A camping trip to Achill Island, off Co Mayo, had been planned for British Army boys in 1964 ALAMYBritish authorities were forced to cancel an Army boys’ camping holiday to an island off the coast of Ireland after IRA slogans appeared on roads and bridges, newly declassified records show. A group of 73 band boys from the Northern Irish brigade, St Patrick’s Barracks in Ballymena, were to spend their annual camping holiday at Keem beach in Achill Island, located in Mayo on Ireland’s west coast, from August 8 to 14, 1964. The declassified records show that in a confidential note, a Department of Foreign Affairs official said that the British ambassador, Sir Geofroy Tory, contacted him to let him know that after an IRA slogan was painted in the area, they decided to cancel the holiday. The official added: “The ambassador said that…

Source: The Times December 30, 2019 00:00 UTC