After a prolonged period of background political manoeuvring , both loyalist and republican paramilitary groups declared ceasefires in 1994 . < ! -- WP : NFCC violation : The year leading up to the ceasefires was a particularly tense one , marked by atrocities . The UDA and UVF stepped up their attacks . The IRA responded with the Shankill Road bombing in October 1993 , which aimed to kill the UDA leadership , but killed eight Protestant civilian shoppers and one low-ranking UDA member , as well as one of the perpetrators , who was killed when the bomb detonated prematurely . The UDA retaliated with mass shootings in nationalist areas such as Greysteel and Castlerock . Twelve people were killed at Greysteel and Castlerock , all but two of whom were Catholic
Shankill Road bombing
Shankill Road bombing
The Troubles