The IRA ceasefire broke down in 1996, plunging the peace process into turmoil. In January, Sinn Féin said the IRA might agree to verifiable decommissioning once a political settlement had been agreed. On February 9th, a Provisional IRA bomb exploded at Canary Wharf in London, killing two people and marking the breakdown of the 18- month IRA ceasefire. May saw elections for the Northern Ireland Forum, with increased votes for the DUP and Sinn Féin. Detective Garda Jerry McCabe, of Henry Street Garda Station, Limerick, was murdered during a mail robbery in Co Limerick in June 1996.

Source: The Irish Times December 30, 2019 00:56 UTC