The day that shook the royal family

Headline: 30th anniversary of Mountbatten

With the 30th anniversary of assassination of Lord Mountbatten. approaching on August 29th, Northwest Xtra spoke to Mountbatten's bodyguard on the day; Kevin Henry. He was just three weeks on the job as a bodyguard for Lord Mountbatten when the British royal and members of his family were assassinated.

Louis Mountbatten, the uncle to Prince Philip and most commonly known for his role as the last Viceroy of the British Indian Empire, was world famous and yet he often came on holidays to the sea-faring village of Mullaghmore in County Sligo, where he retreated in his own estate; Classiebawn Castle. Among Lord Louis Mountbatten's other titles were; the Admiral of the Fleet, The first Earl of Burma, The first Governor General of Independent India and Commander of the 5th Destroyer Flotilla on HMS Kelly and captain of HMS Illustrious.

On August 27th 1979, Mountbatten and members of his family went sailing in his 30 foot wooden boat, the Shadow V, which was moored in the small harbour at Mullaghmore, when the IRA set off a bomb planted underneath the boats engine, instantly killing Lord Louis Mountbatten, his grandson Nicholas, his eldest daughters Mother in law Lady Brabourne and a local teenager Paul Maxwell who had a summer job helping out on the boat.

At 9.30pm on the morning in question, Mountbatten informed his young bodyguard, Kevin Henry, that he was going out on his fishing boat with members of his family. Kevin recalled asking Mountbatten on one of his first days on the job if he wished for him to accompany him on the boat as security and Mountbatten replied that he did not wish for it. Louis Mountbatten was on holiday and wanted to be free to take his family out on the boat at his own leisure.

Kevin explained to Northwest Xtra that there were plenty of opportunities to assassinate Mountbatten. “He would drive a green peugeot estate down to his boat, which was well known by locals. His boat was left in Mullaghmore unaccompanied day and night and it was all to easy for someone to plant a bomb without anyone spotting them doing so”, Kevin recollected. Kevin remembers how often Mountbatten regularly walked the sand dunes of Mullaghmore, making it very difficult for his security team to spot him on binoculars. However, as he was not long in the job, it was not his place to question Mountbatten on his security wishes.

“Usually there were two security guards on duty during the day at the castle and a few more at night time” explained Kevin. However in hindsight, he feels there should have been more guards on duty securing the castle during the day time.

“On August 27th 1979, Mountbatten was wearing white sand shoes, beige cords and a blue naval sweater with the words HMS Kelly emblazoned on it. He was very proud of being a commander of that ship and often wore that sweater”, he described vividly. “Mountbatten was on the wheel that day with the younger members of the crew in the centre of the boat”.

“As regards, how it was planned, nobody could know exactly what time Mountbatten would leave on the boat. He informed me at half past nine, but did not leave until after 11 in the morning. I can remember there was low tide and helping them down at the boat. My feet were standing just a foot away from the 50 pound of gelignite planted under the boat engine”, voiced the former Garda calmly.

Mountbatten steered the boat towards his lobster pots along the indented coastline. As the boat was heading for the lobster pots, there was a sudden bang. The boat split down the middle and dissipated, as shards of debris were flung through the air. “Flames of different colours could be seen and the sea was dancing” commented Kevin. “The blast was so loud that people heard it from Bundoran Road in Sligo”.

“I just thought, My God this cannot be happening, but I knew it was happening” remarked Kevin sadly. Kevin informed Northwest Xtra about how he remained calm, amidst the chaos.
“I quickly tried to get a signal on the car radio and walkie talkie. I failed to connect to Bundoran or Ballyshannon station, but managed to get through to Pat Lyons at Kinlough Station. I remember I swung the car around to head for Mullaghmore to get help and I hit a drain. In Mullaghmore, people were busy carrying out their business as usual”.

Kevin explained that he organised for help to head out to the scene. He had a tough job on his hands, trying to stop anxious locals trying to get into boats and head out to help at the scene. However, Kevin was worried that too many people scurrying out to sea in their boats, could hinder the search and rescue. “I was worried that boats would go over bodies that couldn't be seen in the water from the human eye” says Kevin.

“I wanted to ring the chief in Sligo to inform him. I remember getting to the phone box in Mullaghmore and there were two women inside them”. Kevin remembers that one women was not to happy to be booted out of the box. Needless to say, she was oblivious to the catastrophe happening beyond in the bay. “I then went to the castle, where I informed Hugh Tunney and ordered that no phone calls be taken”, recalled Kevin about the events of the day.

Paul Maxwell was the first body to be recovered from the water. Dr. Richard Wallace and Dr. Brian Best were at the scene to pronounce his death. They were on holidays in Mullaghmore from Northern Ireland. Kevin recalls how his own family were sick with worry for him, as he did not get to contact them to tell them he was alive. His family presumed the worst when they heard about the attack on the boat. It was hours later that evening, before Kevin managed to send word to his worried girlfriend at the time (Fiona) and his parents.

“I remember driving Lady Pamela to Sligo General Hospital that evening. She was stiff upper lip and I remember telling her to ignore me and cry if she needs to. We passed Ben Bulben, which at the time had a sign saying “Brits Out” on it. She put down her head and sobbed”, he said retrospectively.

Kevin explained to Northwest Xtra that he was shook after the event which unfolded before his eyes on that day. He never spoke about what happened on that day publicly for 25 years. Instead he blanked it from his mind and went back to work. However the bombing coupled with the Warren Point ambush that day, put the troubles on the world stage, as well as causing the cancellation of Pope John Paul's proposed visit to Armagh over fears for his safety. Its significance meant that Mullaghmore was stigmatized for years as the place where Mountbatten was brutally assassinated and not remembered for its long sea-faring tradition.

The terrorist attack three decades ago led to one of the biggest police investigations in Irish history.
At the time of the explosion, IRA members; Thomas McMahon and Francis McGirl were 70 miles away, in Garda custody after getting stopped at a traffic checkpoint. Those lads never expected to be stopped at a traffic checkpoint. It was only when they failed to open the boot and acted
suspiciously, that the Gardai took them into custody” remarked Kevin. “However, the connection between that car stopped at the traffic checkpoint and the assassination was not made at first, because they were stopped before the bomb went off. However, the forensics later showed up that the paint traces found on McMahon's clothes, had flakes of green paint from the Shadow V and that the sand discovered in the car was that of Mullaghmore sand”, described Kevin meticulously. McGirl later was acquitted of his charges, due to insufficient evidence, however Thomas McMahon was jailed until August 1998, where he was released as part of the Good Friday peace agreement.

A sixty minute documentary entitled; 'Return to Mullaghmore' will be aired on RTÉ 1 at 9.35am on Monday August 17th. 'Below the Radar' has been commissioned by RTÉ and the History Channel
to make a documentary exploring the events surrounding the IRA's assassination of Lord Mountbatten. The program aims to give a personal as well as political overview and will have particular appeal for a significant group of Sligo people who remember the event.

A book titled; 'From a Clear Blue Sky' will be published on August 27th and soon after, will be available to purchase in shops. It tells the story of the terrible tragedy which tore the Knatchbull family apart. The book by Timothy Knatchbull, the brother of victim Nicholas Knatchbull's brother and grandson of Lord Mountbatten is a personal journey of healing and reconciliation for him.