Today in Labor History October 12, 1984: The Provisional Irish Republican Army failed to assassinate Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet at the Brighton Hotel. Thatcher narrowly escaped, and her popularity soared in the aftermath. The bomb did kill five Conservative Party members, including a sitting MP, and wounded 31 others. The Miners’ Strike was currently underway in Britain. Morrissey, from the Smiths, said: "The only sorrow of the Brighton bombing is that Thatcher escaped unscathed." The tabloids were full of similar jokes. The Angelic Upstarts celebrated the bombing with their single "Brighton Bomb." The bomber, Patrick McGee, got 8 life sentences (just to make sure he was thoroughly remorseful). Magee was released in 1999 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, after serving 14 years. The bombing was depicted in the novels “High Dive” (2015) by Jonathan Lee, and “In the Morning I'll Be Gone” by Adrian McKinty.