Maybe the most remarkable case of that century, known as the Crossmaglen Conspiracy,� arose in 1883, when 13 men from the locality were charged with the murder of two landlords, Robert McGeough and Henry Brooke. But the general feeling was that the only conspiracy was that by Dublin Castle against those in the dock.

The accused were said to have joined a new society, called the Irish Patriotic Brotherhood, made up of members of the Fenians, Ribbonmen and the Bogmen, with the aim of �over-throwing the Queen�s government.� But historian Kevin McMahon stated that the purpose of the prosecution was to �smash legitimate land agitation.� Twelve were convicted, and all but two sentenced to ten years� penal servitude.

The case was recalled in 1915, when the `Irish Volunteer` newspaper described the so-called conspiracy as �a campaign of calumny, in which the landlords and capitalist moulders of public opinion contrived to keep the notion that Crossmaglen was a constant centre of bloodshed and murder.�

Meanwhile, many pundits have claimed that the shooting dead by a British soldier of Silverbridge contractor, 29-year-old father-of-six Henry Thornton, while driving through West Belfast in August, 1971, was the spark which ignited �the Troubles� in South Armagh. The victim�s van had back-fired at traffic lights, close to the Springfield Road police station.

The Inquest was told that a soldier on sentry duty had thought that the base was under attack; and that one of his comrades had fired several shots at the van, fatally wounding the driver. A passenger, Arthur Murphy was taken to hospital with facial injuries. Neither of the soldiers, who remained anonymous, were called to give evidence.

Stating that there had been two versions of what had happened, the coroner said that �the scene of the shooting was one of Belfast�s greatest tension spots. The 19-year-old youth in the sentry box was no doubt in a very excitable condition, and may have imagined things that were not there.�

And he told the jury: �The whole sad tragedy is just another result of the criminal activity that is going on. It was not terrorists who fired the shots, but you may feel that it was just as much their responsibility.� An Open Verdict was returned.

Angry demonstrations took place at Crossmaglen, following the killing. And amongst those involved in the disturbances was Michael McVerry, later to become C.O. of the Provisional IRA in the area. After losing his right hand, when preparing a mortar-bomb, he was shot dead while leading an attack on Keady RUC Station. An elaborate monument was erected at Cullyhanna in his honour.

One of the most tragic episodes of the conflict came during a loyalist bomb and gun attack on Donnelly�s public house at Silverbridge in December, 1975. 14-year-old Michael Donnelly, son of the proprietor, along with two customers, Trevor Bracknell (35), and 24-year-old Patrick Joseph Donnelly, were shot dead.

A sing-song was in session at the pub when the masked gang, who later claimed to be from the Red Hand Commandos, burst in and opened fire, then planted a bomb. A fleet of ambulance conveyed the dead and seriously injured to Daisyhill Hospital in Newry.

Trevor Bracknell�s wife had just given birth to a baby at the Newry hospital, and he was on the way home after a visit, when he stopped off for a drink. Trevor�s body was placed in the morgue, just a few yards from the maternity wing of the hospital! Patrick Donnelly had been getting petrol from beside the pub, before going to visit his girlfriend. The same organisation had earlier set off a car-bomb at Kay�s Tavern in Dundalk, which killed one and injured others.

Silverbridge was again the location, when the Head Postmaster for the Newry region, 51-year-old William Elliott, visited the Post Office in the village, after a robbery there. He was shot dead in mistake for a detective. Meanwhile, the victim of another loyalist bomb attack on a pub, McArdle�s in Crossmaglen, Thomas McNamee (aged 55), died from injuries he received.

A controversial killing was the shooting dead by the Royal Marines of Fearghal Caraher, who was leaving the `Lite and Easy` Bar in Cullyhanna, being driven by his brother, Micheal. One of the soldiers claimed that the vehicle had struck him, but this was denied by several eye-witnesses.

Many have been the victims of the 25-year conflict, including soldiers, police, paramilitaries and civilians, - also two whose bodies have never been recovered, Charles Armstrong and Gerard Evans. Since Crossmaglen featured at the start of the �Troubles,� it was a coincidence that a man from the area, Bernard McGinn, was convicted of killing the last British soldier to lose his life in the North, Stephen Restoric.

Whatever the political impasse, most people realise that there is no going back to the path of violence. South Armagh, and the Crossmaglen area in particular, have tasted the fruits of peace and the prospect of progress. The trauma and turmoil, which this much-maligned region has endured over the centuries, hopefully belongs to the history-books!

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