Claim: Operation Conversation was a British Army attempt to ambush a Provisional Irish Republican Army unit along Dorsey Enclosure, but was ultimately thwarted by the IRA Unit by luring the British positions to an open field and then released heavy fire from a nearby hill 400 yards away.
Evidence: Operation Conservation was a British Army attempt to ambush a large Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit along the Dorsey Enclosure, between Cullyhanna and Silverbridge, in south County Armagh. The operation was uncovered and thwarted by the IRA South Armagh Brigade. According to author David McKittrick, the British soldiers were lured to an open field after seeing smoke coming from the chimney of a derelict building. The IRA South Armagh Brigade watched these movements and was able to spot several of the hidden observation posts (OPs). Eventually, they decided to attack one of the British positions at Slatequarry, near Cullyhanna, which was in the more vulnerable situation. On the very first hours of 6 May, the exposed British position began to receive heavy fire from an IRA unit emplaced on the slope of a nearby hill some 400 yards away. Provisional Irish Republican Army