This November marks 50 years since one of England’s deadliest attacks since World War II, which killed 21 people and unveiled a dark side to the British government’s response during “The Troubles,” a conflict that deeply divided Northern Ireland ethnically and politically from the late 1960s through the 1990s. To this day, the true perpetrators of the bombings remain unknown.
On the night of November 21, 1974, as Northern Ireland was engulfed in The Troubles, a violent conflict marked by clashes between Irish nationalist/republican groups (primarily Catholic) and unionist/loyalist groups (primarily Protestant), a bomb exploded at a pub in Birmingham city center called The Mulberry Bush at exactly 8:25 p.m.. Just two minutes later, a second explosion hit another nearby pub, The Tavern in the Town. By the end of that tragic night, 21 people had been killed and 220 injured, with all eyes immediately on the Irish Republican Army (IRA) as the main suspects.
Six Northern Irish men, later known as the “Birmingham Six,” quickly became the primary suspects. Five of these men traveled about 20 minutes by train before the bombings to attend the funeral of their friend and IRA member, James McDade. Their late friend had accidentally killed himself a week earlier while attempting to plant a bomb in a Coventry telephone exchange. The Birmingham Six—Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Joseph Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power, and John Walker—were swiftly arrested after the attacks, suspected of being directly involved due to their IRA connections. In 1975, each was given a life sentence for the murders of the 21 victims.
However, their conviction became one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history. Investigative journalist and labor MP Chris Mullin played a pivotal role in uncovering the truth. During the original trial, Mullin received a tip-off suggesting flaws in the convictions of the Birmingham Six and began an exhaustive investigation. “I realized from the start that poking holes in police evidence alone wasn’t enough,” he told the BBC. “I’d need to track down the real bombers, and they’d be alive and well in Ireland.”
After 16 years in prison, the Birmingham Six were finally released, leaving a permanent stain on the British justice system. The men received financial compensation for their wrongful imprisonment, ranging from GBP 840,000 to GBP 1.2 million. Still, the memory of this failure in British law enforcement endures, with journalist Rowan Moore reflecting, “If you are under 45, you may know little of one of the worst miscarriages of justice of modern times. If you are older, you may remember footage of their release and media coverage of the case, but your grasp of the details might be hazy.”
The case remains unresolved. Former West Midlands Mayor Andy Street expressed hope that the truth might finally emerge. “I do believe the government could decide to grant the public inquiry. I’ve got good evidence to believe that’s the situation they’re in, so there is a decision that can be taken,” he told the BBC. Yet, when a change in government occurred in July, the case stalled, with the newly appointed Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, declining to comment.
To this day, the families of the victims and the public await answers to this half-a-century-long mystery, a haunting chapter of The Troubles, with many hoping that truth may finally come to light and justice be served.