Northern Ireland was in a violent phase. Insurgents planted bombs and assassinated its foes, including in 1979 Airey Neave, Thatcher's close friend who was slated to take charge there. The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), a republican paramilitary group, claimed responsibility. On 27 August 1979, the IRA assassinated Lord Mountbatten, a member of the royal family, and other units killed 18 policemen. Sheer luck on the early morning of 12 October 1984 saved Thatcher's life as five were killed by a bomb planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in Brighton's Grand Hotel during the Conservative Party conference.