Father Frank Lenny and another priest were talking in the sitting  room of the Parocial House at Mullavilly  when they heard the sound of breaking glass. Father Lenny rushed out ont door in time to see masked men jump into a car and drive off in the direction of Ballylisk.
One minute later, the bomb which had been thrown through a window exploded, causing extensive damage to the west wing of the house and severely damaging a new Volkswagen car which Father Lenny bought that day
Chief Superintendent Charles Rodgers of Portadown RU.C. said last night, "This was a definite murder attempt. There was no warning, I am appalled at the callousness of the people who left the explosives as they knew there was someone in the house."
Shortly after the blast, the west wing of the house caught fire and a nearby resident telephoned the Portadown police and fire brigade
The fire brigade fought the blaze at great personal risk as army experts had not determined if there was another bomb at the scene.  Another hazard the firemen faced was the acute shortage of water which had to be brought from a considerable distance
A man purporting to be a member of the outlawed Protestant 'Ulster Freedom Fighters' telephoned the BBC in Belfast about an hour after the explosion and claimed responsibility. Roadblocks were set up throughout the County soon after the incident in an effort to find the terrorists, but nothing was found and police investigations are continuing.
Tuesday night's bomb was the fourth terrorist attack over the past 18 months on property belonging to Mullavilly Catholic Parish In late 1972 an attempt was made to burn the Church and on the same night the nearby schoolhouse was completely destroyed by fire Several months later another attack resulted in the burning to the ground of the Catholic Parochial Hall
The two communities in Mullavilly were drawn closer together by Tuesday s blast when neighbouring friends of Father Lenny and residents in the area helped out
Chief Superintendent Charles Rodgers of Portadown RUC said in a statement on Wednesday morning that it was most fortunate that the two priests escaped "If they had stayed in the house they would almost certainly have been killed in the explosion "