Member's statement: Droppin' Well Bomb: Anniversary
Member's statement by Mr Alan Robinson on .
- MLA
- Mr Alan Robinson
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 8 December 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Droppin' Well Bomb: Anniversary
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5284129
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The date of 6 December is one that is ingrained in my mind, as it was a dark day in my childhood in 1982. However, it was an even darker day for so many other others. It was the date on which evil descended upon the village of Ballykelly, when republican terrorists decided that they would plant a bomb in the Droppin' Well nightclub, killing 17 young people who were having a night out three weeks before Christmas. Protestants and Catholics, the terrorists did not care who they killed. They could not care less who they injured, some with terrible, lifelong injuries. As I said last year, the bombing was an act of evil republican terrorist violence that served no purpose and advanced no cause other than to rob families of loved ones and remove good and decent human beings from this world. While it is a dark date for me from my childhood — I can clearly remember the wail of emergency vehicles — it is an even darker day for those who are left with an empty chair at this time of year and for those who have the mental and physical scars to this day. Again, I thank the Cheshire Regiment Association, which ensures that, every year, those who suffered by the evil that was inflicted upon that village and its people are remembered by an annual solemn event in Tamlaght Finlagan. While others wish to stand on the side of evil and terror, I am always proud to stand, every year, shoulder to shoulder with the innocent to show them that we support them and that we still, and always will, care after the passing of all those years. It truly sickens me to the core that gullible young people are brainwashed to believe that individuals who sneak in and plant a 5 kg bomb in a pillar to bring a roof down upon young people having a night out at Christmastime and who then scurry away are heroes and so-called brave defenders of their bloody, filthy terrorist cause. Let us call it as it is: only murdering psychopaths, blinded by hatred, would do such a thing. Parents and those with responsibility must tell young people that there is nothing to celebrate in terrorism, that it was as wrong then as it is today and that it should never be repeated and can never be justified. I tell that to my child, who is the same age that I was when that dastardly evil was brought on the people of the beautiful and peaceful village of Ballykelly.
431 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.30 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- The text criticises or condemns the framing or division (0.54).
- Subject area: Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.46 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.13 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.07 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.27 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.24 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.05 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.30 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.22 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it (chosen) | 0.54 |
| Adopts it | 0.24 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.54 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.40 |
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.05 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:08 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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