 The UVF deliberately timed the bombings to coincide with the strike.At the time the bombings occurred, the UVF was legal; the proscription against the organisation had been lifted on 4 April 1974 by Merlyn Rees, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in an effort to bring the UVF into the democratic process.It would once more be banned by the British Government on 3 October 1975.