A SHORT Strand woman who died after a bomb attack on an East Belfast shop has been remembered on her 50th anniversary.
Alice Magennis (56) died in the Royal Victoria Hospital on Monday, October 6, 1975, just three days after she was injured in a bomb explosion at a shop on the Albertbridge Road that was blamed on the IRA.
Alice, a Catholic mother of eight children, was a widow who had been married twice.
She lived in Beechfield Street, off Mountpottinger Road at the time of her death.
On Friday, October 3, 1975, Alice had met her daughter Margaret at the variety market, now known as St George's Market.
After Margaret left to go home, Alice called in to McKeague's shop on the Albert Bridge Road to buy a card for a friend's birthday. The shop was owned by leading loyalist John McKeague.
At around 11.40am, a youth threw a device into the shop through the front door. The bomb exploded as Alice and the shop assistant tried to escape. The front of the shop collapsed and Alice was found trapped in the rubble and was rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital. She was later found to have haemorrhages in her brain and after her condition deteriorated, she died from her injuries at 7.50am on Monday, October 6.
Speaking ahead of her 50th anniversary, her daughter, Margaret Garland recalled the events of that horrific day.
"My mum was a quiet woman. She had five children to my daddy Patrick but he died when she was just 34," she explained. "She married again in 1955 and went on to have three more children.
"I remember that day very well. It was a Friday and the variety market was on and I met her there with my daughter.
"I left her and went to see my sister-in-law. The next thing I got a phone call to say she had been in an accident. We then got a call to get down to the hospital as soon as possible. She was in intensive care.
"She was in the first bed in the ward. Her head was all bandaged. We weren't prepared for what we saw. She lasted until the Monday morning when she passed away."
Alice Magennis
Although no organisation admitted responsibility for the bomb attack that killed Alice, the RUC believed the IRA were responsible. An inquest into Alice's death that year returned an open verdict.
A Historical Enquiries Team (HET) investigation in recent years concluded that Alice was a completely innocent victim. The review did not uncover any potential new lines of enquiry.
In 2012, Alice's family were told that some of Alice's body parts had been removed during her surgery and were returned to the family for burial.
"It feels just like yesterday," added Margaret. "I can still see her, cleaning and scrubbing everything.
"There was so many innocent people killed during that time and my mum was one of them. I think it is important that she is remembered on her 50th anniversary."
