The festival was established in 1988 as a direct response to the Troubles , and specifically after the events of March 1988 . The Special Air Service killed three Provisional Irish Republican Army members in Gibraltar . At one of the funerals of the three , an Ulster loyalist paramilitary attacked the funeral with grenades and pistols , killing three mourners ( see Milltown Cemetery attack ) . At the funeral of one of the mourners , two plainclothes British servicemen were killed when they drove into a funeral procession ( see Corporals killings ) . The community of west Belfast came under intense media scrutiny and was described by the British Broadcasting Corporation as a " terrorist community "
Milltown Cemetery attack
Milltown Cemetery attack
Féile an Phobail