Tullyvallen: Politicians remember IRA's sectarian slaughter and say there was always an alternative

Politicians have described the sectarian murder of five Protestants by the IRA at a rural Orange Hall as one of the darkest days of the Troubles, as they prepare to mark the 50th anniversary of the atrocity on Orange victims’ day.

The men were killed on 1 September 1975 in the building at Tullyvallen when gunmen entered the hall and sprayed it with bullets while others fired through the window from outside.

Worshipful Master Alasdair Cooke, whose grandfather James McKee was killed in the IRA attack which took place at Tullyvallen Orange Hall in 1975, pictured at the Hall ahead of the 50th anniversary of the killings. Orangemen William McKee, James McKee, Nevin McConnell, John Johnston and William Herron were killed in the attack during a lodge meeting in Tullyvallen near Newtownhamilton, Co Armagh, in 1975.Picture date: Friday August 29, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

placeholder image — Worshipful Master Alasdair Cooke, whose grandfather James McKee was killed in the IRA attack which took place at Tullyvallen Orange Hall in 1975, pictured at the Hall ahead of the 50th anniversary of the killings. Orangemen William McKee, James McKee, Nevin McConnell, John Johnston and William Herron were killed in the attack during a lodge meeting in Tullyvallen near Newtownhamilton, Co Armagh, in 1975.Picture date: Friday August 29, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Newry & Armagh DUP MLA William Irwin said it was one of a small number of atrocities which stood out, given its “entirely sectarian” nature.

“It is appropriate that 1st September marks Orange Victims Day, when not just the five members of Tullyvallen were murdered, but the 342 Orangemen and 1 Orangewoman who were murdered, including other members of Tullyvallen both before and after the massacre”, he said.

The front cover of the News Letter, September 2, 1975. The headline relates to the Tullyvallen killings.

The DUP man said “we should never forget that there was a very clear alternative to the sectarian murder of your neighbour.”

UUP legacy spokesperson Doug Beattie told the News Letter the IRA killers were “interested in nothing more than sectarian murder and they chose the softest target possible. For anyone to think this slaughter was justified or that the republican movement had no other choice is deluded”.

“It is clear, 50 years on, that the PIRA were engaged in an attempt to ethically cleanse the border region and the tit for tat sectarian murders gave them cover to do so.

“The fact the perpetrators used the Irish Republic as their safe haven and weapons used at Tullyvallen were later used in Kingsmill absolutely undermines PIRA and Sinn Féin’s assertions, at the time, that this was an unsanctioned atrocity. Today is a day to remember those who were murdered and injured at Tullyvallen and those that still carry the scars.

“It is also time to remember those who believed the slaughter was justified and it’s time to ensure they never forget”.

TUV victims spokesperson Sammy Morrison will address a remembrance service in Dromore on Monday night. Citing Psalm 10, he will say that the IRA led a “dirty, criminal murder campaign against the innocent”.

In a speech given to the News Letter in advance, Mr Morrision says: “They came, not openly, but to lurk in the village of Dromore in 1976. Not to strike political leaders — but to murder a family who ran a drapery shop, as they slept.

“They came, not against armies, but against the poor who huddled at a wall in Enniskillen in 1987. A service of remembrance buried in rubble by an IRA bomb. Small as I was, I remember the prayers in my home that day as my father searched a makeshift morgue for his sister. He later found her in hospital. She survived — but it was far from simple”.