20/10/2026
๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ: ๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ข๐๐ก๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฅ
Today our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Sir Knight and Brother Michael Marshall. Sir Knt. Marshall was 25, married with children and a serving RUC officer when he was murdered by the IRA in Belleek, south Armagh, on 20th October 1989. Sir Knight Marshall was from Mowhan Road, Markethill and had been in the RUC for only four and a half years. The ambush was carried out around 11:00PM near the centre of Belleek. The following account of the cowardly attack on Sir Knt. Marshall was given by a colleague in Colin Breenโs โA force like no other: The next shiftโ:
โI hadnโt been in the station very long when bits and pieces of information on an attack on a police car started to come in. The village of Belleek was mentioned and initially there was some confusion as there is also a village called Belleek in Fermanagh. My colleague and I immediately got a police car and ri**es and rushed out to respond.
Sadly the police car had been ambushed near the centre of Belleek village on its way to a prearranged call. A tipper lorry had come along the road between Carnlough and Bessbrook and, as the police car veered towards Belleek, the lorry got ahead of them and dropped its tailgate. Mounted behind the tailgate was a 12.7mm Russian-made heavy machine gun, which was pointed at the police car.
Two parallel roads also had IRA teams on them, so no matter what way the car had gone, the patrol was going to be vulnerable to attack. The terrorists opened fire on the police car with the machine gun and several different ri**es. The driver of the vehicle, Michael Marshall died at the scene. His twenty-one-year-old colleague survived, despite having multiple gunshot wounds, and was able to tell us exactly what had happened.
The passenger had tried to get the door open to get out of the vehicle and Michael had said, โNo, stay in.โ He was trying to get the car into reverse in an attempt to move them to safety, at which point the heavy-calibre machine gun rounds came through the armour on the vehicle killed him. The passenger, realising he was now a sitting duck, again tried to get out of the vehicle, watching the rounds pierce through the armoured car above him. The police car was hit sixty-six times and then had caught fire. He reported hearing the gunmen hollering and cheering, which made him fear they were going to come over and finish him as he was lying there. He said, โI was convinced I was going to die lying there on that road and then I heard the lorry as they drove off.โ
An off-duty police officer who happened to be nearby had driven over to the scene and pulled the wounded officer from the burning vehicle. Unfortunately there was nothing he could do for Constable Marshall.โ
Minutes from the November 1989 meeting of the Preceptory record, โthe Worshipful Master [W. Sir Knt. D.J. Spence] spoke of the great loss the Preceptory had sustained through the tragic death of Sir Knight Michael Marshall who was murdered by the enemies of Ulster while carrying out his duties as a member of the RUC. Sir Knight Spence expressed the sympathy of the Preceptory to the entire family circle. The Sir Knights stood in silent tribute while the Obituary Prayer was read.โ
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