Roll of Honor
Incident
During the attack at 10:20pm, the second in three weeks, the door to the barracks was blown in by a bomb and shots were fired through the open doorway.
Constable Scally was struck by shrapnel from the bomb and sustained serious injuries to his back, near his spine.
Once the raiders had been repelled, John was taken to the County Fermanagh Hospital in Enniskillen but was declared dead on admission.
An RUC spokesman said “Constable Scally was a very promising young policeman who, last month, was awarded a favourable record for good police duty”.
John, a single man from Ballycastle, County Antrim, joined the RUC in August 1953.
Survivors
He came from a large family and was survived by his parents and siblings.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-GB-RUC-F147C61B- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 8, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Constable Scally served with the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Constable Scally.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Constable John Scally is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NIR, 422 of 599 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 70.5% of this state's fallen. That is 16.3 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
At Royal Ulster Constabulary GC, 351 of 469 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 74.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Scally's cause is highlighted.
How John Scally Compares
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. John Scally is highlighted in Dec.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths.
Others Who Wore This Badge
468 officers from Royal Ulster Constabulary GC are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
