EFFORTPOST [Writeup][IRA] Operation Flavius and the Gibraltar 3

The Gibraltar Three and Operation Flavius

On March 6, 1988, around 3:45 p.m., shots were heard in otherwise tranquil Gibraltar. As passersby turned in alarm towards the shots, three people collapsed, riddled with bullets.

They were Mairéad Farrell, 31, Daniel McCann, 31, and Seán Sabhaois (Savage), 23, who were to become known as the "Gibraltar Three."

Mairéad Farrell, Seán Sabhaois (Savage), Daniel McCann

All three were long-standing members of the Provisional IRA. Farrell was incarcerated in the notorious Armagh Prison until 1986, where she assumed leadership of the female Provos held there as an officer and participated in the 1981 hunger strikes.

Savage, McCann, and Farrell were tasked with carrying out an operation in the British Overseas Territory. During the "Changing of the Guards" ceremony outside the Convent (the Governor's residence), a car bomb was to be detonated to cause maximum damage and to demonstrate that England was not immune to IRA actions even overseas.

Parking Spot where the rigged Car was supposed to be parked, and the Convent of Gibraltar

The planning began as early as 1987, and unfortunately, the British Secret Service (MI-5) quickly caught wind of the operation. For instance, some IRA members were exposed when they entered Spain from Belfast using false identities. Additionally, a supposed member of the Provos was observed multiple times attending the changing of the guards, presumably to note down a precise schedule.

Due to these events, Operation "Flavius" was initiated by the British government. To ensure that the changing of the guards would be the target of the (previously suspected) attack, the Governor suspended all ceremonies in December 1987 under the pretext of repainting the building. Upon resumption of the ceremonies and subsequent sightings of supposed IRA members, the British Secret Service was confident in locating the site of the attack.

During the renovation period, McCann, Farrell, and Savage traveled to Malaga (approximately 140km from Gibraltar) and each rented a vehicle. Their activities were continuously monitored, and by early March, British authorities were convinced that an attack was imminent.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher subsequently approved a special operation by the British SAS, which immediately commenced training suitable intervention techniques. Meanwhile, Gibraltar authorities searched for a location to arrest the suspected Provos.

The plan was as follows: The SAS would assist Gibraltar authorities in the arrest after confirmation from the intelligence service (which had been in Gibraltar for weeks) that a vehicle had been parked outside the Convent and that McCann, Farrell, and Savage had left the scene.

On March 6, around 12:45 p.m., Savage managed to enter Gibraltar unnoticed in his rented Renault A5. However, he was spotted there by a member of MI-5 but not fully identified, which took more than 1½ hours. Meanwhile, Savage was able to park the car in the parking lot in front of the Convent, which was used as a gathering place for the guards just before the ceremony.

At 2:30 p.m., McCann and Farrell were spotted crossing the Spanish border and were further observed. Savage, McCann, and Farrell met at 2:50 p.m. in the parking lot. Shortly after, the three left the location and walked together towards the city center.

After the three left the parking lot, a SAS soldier (an explosives expert) was tasked with inspecting the vehicle for explosives. He returned after a few minutes and reported that the car was to be considered suspicious. He was so certain that four additional SAS soldiers were ordered to their positions to intercept the suspected attackers.

Joseph Canepa, the police chief of Gibraltar, who had been in charge of the operation until that point, transferred responsibility to the SAS supervisor at 3:40 p.m. to carry out the arrest. Just 2 minutes later, the soldiers (who were dressed in civilian clothing) were ordered to carry out the operation. As they approached the three Irish individuals, they were noticed, and Savage, McCann, and Farrell attempted to flee. In the process, Savage separated from the others.

While two soldiers focused on Savage, the other two pursued McCann and Farrell. A police siren, wailing in the direction of Farrell and McCann's escape, caused them to pause briefly and glance towards their pursuers. One of the soldiers reached for his service weapon and reportedly attempted to persuade both to surrender. However, McCann allegedly reached into his jacket pocket. Taking this action as a sign that McCann was reaching for the remote control for the explosive device, the soldier shot McCann in the back. As Farrell also made "suspicious movements," she was hit by a bullet in the back from the soldier. To be sure, he fired three more shots at McCann (twice in the back and once in the head). Soldier 2, drawing "similar conclusions," did the same, firing twice at Farrell, twice at McCann, and three more times at Farrell. Both were hit exclusively in the back and back of the head.

At the same time, about 91 meters away, Savage's pursuers heard gunshots. Savage turned around, and according to the soldiers' accounts, reached into his jacket pocket. Believing it could be the remote control for the explosive device, they opened fire. Savage was struck by 15 bullets and collapsed on the spot.

Here died Sean

At this point, Farrell and McCann died. The operation lasted less than 25 minutes. None of the three survived the "arrest."

Immediately after the operation, surrounding buildings near the vehicle were evacuated, and explosives experts began defusing the situation. Four hours later, successful defusing was reported.

The bodies of the three Irish individuals were searched, but nothing was found except three vehicle keys. They were unarmed. However, one of the keys led authorities to a red Ford Fiesta in Marbella, where approximately 64KG of Semtex along with 2 detonators were found.

British authorities issued a press release on the same day, confirming the operation in Gibraltar. They spoke of defusing 250KG of Semtex in the parking lot.

The IRA later released a statement confirming the active service of Savage, McCann, and Farrell, but claimed that only 64KG of explosives were involved, the same amount later found in the red Ford Fiesta.

It later emerged that there had been no explosives in the white Renault at any time, and the English authorities knowingly issued a false report.

The events of that day led to the "Corporals Killings" and the "Milltown Cemetery Attack" a few days later.

If this was of any interest of you, I'm happy to do a writeup about those two incidents as well..

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