| Hillcrest Bar bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of The Troubles | |
| Location | Donaghmore Road, Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom |
| Date | 17 March 1976 8:20 PM |
Attack type | Car bomb |
| Deaths | 4 |
| Injured | 50 |
| Perpetrator | Ulster Volunteer Force (Mid-Ulster Brigade) |
The Hillcrest Bar bombing, also known as the "Saint Patrick's Day bombing", took place on 17 March 1976 in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group, detonated a car bomb outside a pub crowded with people celebrating Saint Patrick's Day. Four Catholic civilians were killed by the blast—including two 13-year-old boys standing outside—and almost 50 people were injured, some severely.
In December 1980, UVF member Garnet James Busby confessed to having been one of the bombers and was sentenced to life in prison. The UVF unit responsible was the Mid-Ulster Brigade, which at the time was led by Robin Jackson. The attack is one of many linked to the Glenanne gang, a loose association of loyalist militants and rogue members of the Northern Ireland security forces, who carried out a series of attacks against the Catholic/Irish nationalist community in the area during the 1970s.