The following list of sectarian and other hate-driven incidents and attacks is from 1 through 30 September 2001. The criteria we use for inclusion is based on the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) criteria; if a person/organisation feels that the motivation for an attack against them was sectarian (or racist or homophobic), then it should be counted as such. We rely on a number of sources for our information, but this is by no means comprehensive. If you find incidents that have been left off the list please contact us. A full dossier of sectarian and other hate attacks from January 1999 until August 2001 is also available.
September 1, Saturday.
There were demands for the Progressive Unionist Party
to be excluded from the Northern Irish Assembly after allegations that the UVF
had planted the car bomb at the Aul'Lammas fair in Ballycastle on August 28.
Responsibility for the bomb had been claimed by the Red Hand Defenders (RHD),
a common nom de guerre for members of 'mainstream' loyalist groups who wish
to maintain the illusion of being on ceasefire. The Irish News reported a UDA
denial of involvement in the attack. (OBS, IN, BBC).
The Irish News reported that Orangemen in Ballycastle claimed to have received
death threats from an organisation calling itself the "Ballycastle Action
Force". (IN)
It was reported that the RUC had vowed to mount a huge security operation to
ensure the safe passage of pupils to Holy Cross School primary school if Catholic
and Protestant residents failed to broker an agreement. (IN)
Up to 70 loyalists attacked Catholic homes in Westland Gardens, north Belfast.
An 18-year-old Catholic youth was assaulted, requiring hospital treatment for
a broken leg and arm. (AN)
Security forces made safe a pipe bomb found outside the gates of Belfast Castle.
A wedding was taking place inside at the time. (ST, RUC)
September 2, Sunday.
A 15-year-old Catholic boy was beaten up by a group of
loyalists in Larne in the early hours of the morning. The boy, who was attacked
with an iron bar, needed hospital treatment for head injuries. (IN)
Rival gangs of loyalist and nationalist youths rioted at the Limestone Road
sectarian interface in north Belfast. As security forces moved in, it was reported
that Catholic residents of Parkend Street and Clanchattan Street were left trapped
on the loyalist side of RUC lines. (IN)
September 3, Monday.
Residents of Westland Gardens in north Belfast blamed the
UFF/UDA for orchestrating the weekend violence. Violence erupted after two Catholic
teenagers were assaulted by a group of loyalists early on Saturday morning.
Minutes after the assault, a crowd of loyalist men, armed with hammers, iron
bars and sticks, tried to invade the street. "The people of Westland gardens
are scared senseless. There is clearly a campaign of intimidation against this
small mixed community," said Sinn Féin's Eoin Ó Broin. (IN)
In north Belfast, Catholic schoolgirls, all under eleven years of age, were
forced to run a "gauntlet of hate" through a loyalist protest on their
first day back at the Holy Cross school after the summer break. Loyalist protesters
in the Glenbryn area spat at, and hurled missiles and sectarian abuse at the
children and their parents. Among the children were a number of four- and five-year-olds
on their first day at school. Two Catholic women, a mother and a grandmother,
needed hospital treatment after being struck by missiles as groups of loyalist
men tried to force their way through RUC lines to attack the schoolchildren
and their parents. The Red hand Defenders (RHD) - a cover name used by the UDA
and the LVF - issued a threat, warning Catholic parents to stay away from the
road. (IN)
During the evening there was intense rioting on Limestone Road, while loyalists
attacked Catholic homes in North Queen Street, close to the interface with the
loyalist Tigers Bay area. (NBN)
Rioting continued into the evening, intensifying as darkness fell. Shots were
fired from the loyalist Glenbryn area and over 100 petrol bombs thrown, causing
several injuries and extensive damage to cars and other property, including
an oil tank which exploded, causing "extensive damage to two houses".
The rioting, which centred on Alliance Avenue and Ardoyne Road, and involved
hundreds of nationalists and loyalists, lasted over four hours, during which
time several Catholic homes were attacked with pipe bombs and petrol bombs.
Loyalists fired five shots at the RUC. (IN, NBN, RUC)
September 4, Tuesday.
Thomas McDonald, a 16-year-old Protestant youth, was killed
after he was struck by a car when it mounted the pavement at the interface between
the loyalist White City and the nationalist Longlands estates in north Belfast
during a riot. A 32-year-old Catholic woman, the driver of the car, was later
arrested and charged with murder. (IN, RUC, BBC)
Over 200 loyalist protesters rioted as Catholic schoolgirls were brought to
Holy Cross School. Amid a shower of stones, a pipe bomb was thrown at school
children and their parents outside the Holy Cross School on the Ardoyne Road,
injuring four RUC officers. Another twenty officers were injured in the rioting.
The Red Hand Defenders, a cover name for the UDA, claimed responsibility for
the pipe bomb attack. Progressive Unionist Party assembly member Billy Hutchinson
said he was ashamed to call himself a loyalist after the attack, but later retracted
this statement saying he had been misquoted. Nationalist politicians described
the attack as 'anti-Catholic, sectarian bigotry'. Up to 70 landrovers and hundreds
of RUC officers in riot gear lined both sides of the Ardoyne Road to separate
loyalist protestors from Catholic schoolgirls and their parents. Catholic and
Protestant church leaders appealed for an end to loyalist protests at the Holy
Cross School. Two Catholic women were treated in hospital for head wounds after
being struck by missiles thrown from the loyalist Glenbryn estate. The RUC seized
three crates of bottles and five gallons of petrol from the Glenbryn estate.
A child psychologist from the Royal Group of Hospitals warned that the scenes
outside the Holy Cross School could severely traumatise children. (IN, BBC)
Over 100 parents took their children home early from Hazelwood Integrated Primary
School in north Belfast amid fears of further violence in the area. Thomas MacDonald's
younger sister is a pupil at the school. (IN)
Catholic residents in Newington Avenue, close to the loyalist Tiger's Bay area
of north Belfast, blamed loyalists for a spate of attacks on their homes. (IN)
Eight petrol bombs and two blast bombs were thrown in the North Queen Street
and Whitewell areas of north Belfast. A nail bomb and blast bombs were thrown
on the Ardoyne Road. Forty one RUC officers were injured in further disturbances
in the area, during which 15 blast bombs and 250 petrol bombs were thrown. The
RHD, using a recognised code word, later claimed responsibility for a number
of shots fired during the rioting. (IN)
It was reported that the personal details of a Catholic solicitor from Strabane
had been posted on a loyalist website. (DJ, IN)
A Derry Sinn Féin councillor condemned the RUC for the way in which they
informed her family that her details had been found on a computer belonging
to a known loyalist. The councillor had been on holiday at the time the RUC
called; they then left a message with details about the threat with her young
son, causing unnecessary worry and anxiety to her family. (DJ)
September 5, Wednesday.
A suspect device was found in the back garden of a Catholic
home in Alliance Avenue. (IN)
Loyalist protests continued outside the Holy Cross Primary School, with the
children having to endure a third day of sectarian abuse, intimidation and violence
as they made their way to school. Loyalist youths on the protest fired a hail
of bricks and bottles at the children and their parents as they made their way
along the Ardoyne Road. Four RUC officers were injured when a blast bomb was
thrown at a house near the route. The RHD issued a death threat against members
of the Right to Education Group (REG), who represent the parents of the Holy
Cross children. Three loyalists were arrested in connection with the attack
with the pipe bomb attack of the previous day. The Upper Ardoyne Residents Association
(the group behind the protest) blamed RUC heavy handedness for the rioting.
(IN, RUC)
The RUC recovered 30 petrol bombs in the Hesketh Park area and 30 crates of
bottles and a large quantity of petrol in the Glenbryn area. Two loyalist youths
were arrested for rioting. (IN)
A woman appeared in court in Belfast, charged with the murder of Thomas MacDonald.
Two men were also charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice.
(IN)
It was reported that a group calling itself the South Londonderry Protestant Volunteers (SLPV) issued a threat against sponsors of GAA teams throughout south County Derry. The same group had issued threats against at least five bus companies that carry people to and from GAA matches, forcing a Bellaghy-based firm to close. More than £3,000 worth of damage was caused to the firm's coaches and taxis in the previous month in a spate of sectarian attacks. The SLPV is regarded as a cover name for the UDA. (IN, BBC).
It was reported that loyalists in Derry's Fountain Estate had attacked a Catholic
taxi driver. (IN, DJ, CW, DN)
September 6, Thursday.
The RHD were believed to be responsible for a bomb scare
at Our Lady of Mercy Primary School in north Belfast. The device found at the
school turned out to be a hoax. (IN)
As the loyalist protesters moderated their tactics from throwing blast bombs
to banging bin lids, blasting horns and whistling at the children and their
parents, the Presbyterian Moderator, Rev Alastair Dunlop, called for an end
to protests at the Holy Cross School. Jim Potts, spokesman for the Glenbryn
Residents, said that paramilitaries had been asked to stay away from the protest.
(IN, BBC, ITN)
Catholic residents of Newington Avenue, north Belfast, whose houses had been
extensively damaged in petrol bomb attacks, said they would not be moving out
of the street. (IN, CW)
The US State Department denounced the loyalist protests at the Holy Cross School
and the paramilitary threats against the families of Holy Cross children. The
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), Childline
and Save the Children all called for the protest to end. (IN)
Loyalists attacked the home of Liam Shannon, chairman of the republican National
Graves Association. The RHD claimed responsibility for the incendiary device
that was thrown at his home. (IN)
September 7, Friday.
It was reported that children from Holy Cross Primary School
were being prescribed sedatives and tranquillisers to help them cope with the
trauma of the loyalist protest. John Hume said the images of violence at the
school had tarnished Northern Ireland's international image (IN, DJ).
The RUC discovered a large number of petrol bombs in the loyalist Tiger's Bay
area. (RUC)
September 8, Saturday.
Two men were arrested in connection with the pipe bomb
attack on Holy Cross children earlier in the week. (AN, IN)
Arsonists set fire to the toilet block at the Holy Family primary school in
Newington, north Belfast. (IN, RUC)
September 9, Sunday.
Loyalists announced that protests and pickets would be
held at the homes of RUC officers involved in securing safe passage for Catholic
children at the Holy Cross primary school in north Belfast. The UDA also warned
it would target all RUC personnel in the constituency if police continued to
help Holy Cross pupils get to their school through the loyalist Glenbryn area.
(IN, Obs)
A number of Catholic residents of Duncairn Gardens in north Belfast received
48-hour warnings to leave, apparently issued by the RHD. (IN)
A pipe bomb was defused at the Everton Complex in the Ardoyne, which provides
mental health services and support for people with severe learning disabilities.
(IN)
September 10, Monday.
A Catholic primary school in north Belfast was damaged
in an arson attack. (IN)
A group calling itself the Loyalist Action Force claimed responsibility for
a pipe bomb that was planted in a ladies toilet in a pub in Coleraine. (IN)
The RUC warned parents in the Oldpark Road area of north Belfast to advise their
children not to pick up any unidentified objects after reports that a device
thrown earlier at the RUC had failed to explode. (IN)
A Catholic family in Carrickfergus escaped injury after a pipe-bomb was thrown
through the window of their home in the mainly loyalist Woodburn Estate (IN,
RUC)
September 11, Tuesday.
Vandals set fire to a plaque and floral tributes which
marked the spot at the Greystone roundabout in Antrim where 19-year-old Catholic
Ciaran Cummings was shot dead by loyalists on July 4 as he waited for a lift
to work. (IN)
James Adair, the 40-year-old brother of jailed UFF/UDA leader Johnny Adair,
was granted bail on a charge of riotous behaviour in connection with the protests
outside Holy Cross Primary School. (IN)
September 13, Thursday.
The Derry News reported that the Ulster Young Militants
(UYM), the youth wing of the UDA, had been flooded with potential recruits in
Derry. This followed similar reports in Belfast. (DN)
The same newspaper reported the threat of possible legal action by the Northern
Irish Gay Rights Association against the British section of the neo-nazi International
Third Position (ITP) for a leaflet distributed in the north containing homophobic
language. The ITP uses a reformulation of extreme nationalism, dressed up as
an alternative "to both capitalism and communism", to bring together
elements of British far right organisations, Ulster loyalism, European neo-nazi
groups, Irish anti-abortionists, North American militias, fundamentalist Christian,
white supremacist and other hate groups. (DN, PFC)
September 14, Friday.
Bitter exchanges between unionist and nationalist politicians
dominated an assembly debate about protests at Holy Cross Primary School. (IN)
Hand written death threats were delivered to four Catholic homes in Duncairn
Gardens in north Belfast. (IN)
Loyalist protesters in north Belfast called off the picket of the Holy Cross
Primary School out of respect for those killed in the US on September 11. (IN)
September 15, Saturday.
An article in the Andersonstown News compared events
at the Holy Cross Primary School to events in Littlerock, Arkansas in 1957,
when nine African American children attempted to take their place in Littlerock
High School following the US Supreme Court decision which ended segregated schooling.
They were met with a barrage of racist taunts and threats of physical violence
from white supremacist mobs. (AN)
Racists attacked a mosque in Belfast. It is thought that the perpetrators believed
they were acting in revenge for the attacks in the US on September 11. Sinn
Féin MLA Alex Maskey said that "to use the tragedy in America as
a mask for such attacks is merely to mask intolerance and racism."(IN)
The UDA was blamed for a pipe bomb thrown over the peace wall into the mainly
nationalist Bennet Street from the Fountain Estate in Derry. (DJ, CW, LS)
A taxi driver escaped uninjured after two shots were fired at his car in the
loyalist Shore Road area in Belfast. The driver had been called to pick up a
fare, and it is a common practice among loyalists to order taxis from perceived
nationalist taxi firms to set them up as easy targets. (RUC, PFC)
September 16, Sunday.
A petrol bomb was thrown into a house near Toagh, Co Antrim.
The house was unoccupied at the time. (IN)
September 17, Monday.
The Church of Ireland Bishop of Derry and Raphoe appealed
to Derry's Catholic majority to help preserve community life in the city's only
Protestant housing estate on the west bank of the city. (IT)
Loyalist protesters outside the Holy Cross Primary School in north Belfast resumed
their picket following a break in memory of those killed in the US on September
11. (IN)
September 18, Tuesday.
It was reported that a dossier containing information
on more than 100 sectarian attacks on the mainly Protestant Fountain Estate
in Derry was to be presented to the north's Security Minister. Included is an
incident where a 14-year-old girl was splashed with petrol when a petrol bomb
landed beside her. (IT, LS, BBC, NL)
September 19, Wednesday.
Protestant parents of children attending the mainly
Protestant Currie Primary School in north Belfast ended their third day of protest
with a white line picket on the Limestone Road. The parents said their picket
was in response to a sectarian attack which had taken place on the Monday (IN)
Six members of the Concerned Residents of Upper Ardoyne (CRUA) picket of the
Holy Cross Primary School were arrested shortly before the protest got underway
again. Among those arrested was Jim Potts, spokesperson for CRUA. There were
scuffles as masked protesters hurled sectarian abuse and played sectarian songs
as parents and children were going to the school. Belfast magistrates later
barred the six CRUA members from going anywhere near the loyalist protests outside
the Holy Cross Primary School, as part of their bail conditions. (IN)
Houses in the Fountain Estate and in the Bennet Street area in Derry were evacuated
when a device, which turned out to be a hoax, was left on a grass verge in the
Fountain. William Temple, a community worker in the Fountain, described bomb
alerts in the area as a deliberate attempt to scare residents of both communities.
(DJ, LS, RUC)
September 20, Thursday.
Loyalist paramilitaries were accused of trying to increase
tension in the Holy Cross dispute after hoax pipe bomb warnings were issued
to three Catholic schools in north Belfast by the Red Hand Defenders, a cover
name for the UDA. (IN)
A pipe bomb was thrown into a house in the Craighill area of Antrim. No one
was injured. (IN, RUC)
September 21, Friday.
Racial discrimination in Northern Ireland's housing sector
has been treated with complacency, according to the Chief Commissioner of the
Equality Commission, Joan Harbison (IN).
CRUA spokesman, Jim Potts, denied that he had broken his bail conditions, set
on September 19, by standing in the doorway of a house close to the picket on
the Ardoyne Road. (IN)
Loyalists attempted to kidnap a Catholic man on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast.
(NBN)
Racists attacked the mosque at the Islamic Centre in Wellington Park in Belfast.
It was the second attack on the mosque in a week. (IN)
September 22, Saturday.
Belfast Lord Mayor Jim Rodgers used his casting vote
to amend a motion calling for an end to the Holy Cross protest to one supporting
the right to education of all children in north Belfast (IN).
A Catholic green keeper was thought have been the target of a pipe bomb discovered
at the Moyola Golf Club at Castledawson. (IN)
A gang of over 100 youths were involved in sectarian clashes between rival groups
in Derry city centre. A number of cars were damaged in the Artillery St area
and many parents contacted the local press to complain that their young children
were terrified as a result of the incidents and the use of fireworks in particular.
It appears that nationalist youths were largely to blame. (DJ, LS, IN)
September 23, Sunday.
Con Butler, a 37-year-old Catholic was killed in an alleged
hit and run incident on the nationalist Springfield Road in west Belfast as
he returned home from visiting his sick wife in hospital. The car was later
found burnt out in a loyalist area and local sources believe that it was a deliberate
sectarian murder and not an accident. (CW)
The UDA was blamed for a shooting incident in which a 19-year-old Catholic woman
was injured. The incident happened in the early hours of the morning during
rioting in North Queen Street and Clifton Park Avenue in north Belfast. Loyalists
were also thought to be behind two blast bomb attacks in the Brookfield Industrial
Estate in north Belfast, and attacks on Catholic homes in North Queen Street,
Limestone Road, Newington Avenue, Parkside, and Newington Street. Fireworks,
paint-bombs, bottles, bricks and 22 pipe bombs were thrown during the rioting.
(IN, NBN, RUC)
In the early hours of the morning, two nationalist youths stole a flag in Cambrai
Street, north Belfast, stoned two houses and escaped into the Brookfield Mill
Industrial complex. A couple of hours later, loyalists threw two blast bombs
into the complex. (IN)
That evening, according to witnesses, a group of up to 50 loyalists forced their
way into Brookfield Mill by threatening the security guard, and then made their
way to the Pittsburgh Bar, where they were confronted by a group of men
who had come out of the pub to stop them. Most of the attackers escaped, allegedly
leaving one behind, who was severely beaten by the crowd. Two women intervened
to stop the beating and put him in a car, from where the RUC retrieved him.
Relatives of the man, who suffered a broken nose, rib, lacerations to his mouth
and several broken teeth, said that he had been kidnapped and that they believed
the IRA to be responsible. The incident provoked claim and counter claim with
the Observer newspaper highlighting allegations that the IRA were involved while
the Irish News followed up with an entirely different version of the story.(IN,
NBN, CW, Obs, SBP)
A Catholic man was treated for several fractures, including a broken leg, after
a beating by the RUC. A loyalist blast bomb was thrown from Hallidays Road and
there was sporadic rioting in Cambrai Street and Crumlin Road into the early
hours of the morning. Sinn Féin's North Belfast MLA Gerry Kelly accused
the UDA of orchestrating the violence. (IN, NBN, CW, Obs, SBP)
September 24, Monday.
Two loyalist blast bombs were thrown at Catholic homes
in Parkside, north Belfast. There were also reports of gunfire in the area.
It was claimed that three women assaulted a Protestant woman on the Crumlin
Road as she waited on a bus. (NBN)
Loyalists blocked the junction at Cambrai Street, Crumlin Road and Hesketh Road.
Catholic homes were attacked in Newington. More than 25 shots were fired from
the rear of the mainly nationalist Newington Street towards the Hallidays Road
end of Tiger's Bay. A toddler escaped injury when some of the rounds struck
her grandmother's house where she was staying. Two blast bombs and a pipe bomb
were thrown at Catholic homes on Clanchattan Street and at the Duncairn end
of Hallidays Road. (NBN, RUC, IN)
Homes on the nationalist side of Queens Street in Belfast were attacked with
paint bombs and fireworks. (IN)
September 25, Tuesday.
Security Forces made safe two pipe bombs found at the
rear of Catholic homes in Rosapenna Street, north Belfast. More pipe bombs were
thrown at Parkside Community House and at houses in Newington Street, Clanchattan
Street and Parkend Street. Loyalists attacked Brookfield Mill. (NBN)
The RUC warned Holy Cross parents that there were reports of a loyalist sniper
on the Ardoyne Road. The same parents, bringing their children home from school,
were attacked by Glenbryn residents throwing fireworks. Two of the parents were
scalded with hot tea thrown by the protesters. (NBN)
The RUC in Belfast said they were investigating an alleged sectarian assault
on a Protestant man by a nationalist. (IN)
A Catholic mother-of-two said that she feared for her family's life after a
blast bomb pierced an oil tank at her north Belfast home. Army technical experts
made safe three unexploded pipe bombs in the nationalist Newington area of north
Belfast (IN).
DUP Assemblyman Edwin Poots attacked the Human Rights Commission because the
Commission had called for the lifting of a ban on homosexuals giving blood as
an example. "It is a human right for people who are receiving blood to
know they are getting clean blood and blood that has not been contaminated by
the HIV virus" he said during an Assembly debate. His comments were condemned
by Sinn Féin's Dara O'Hagan and by the Women's Coalition's Monica McWilliams.
(IN)
A man accused of pipe bombing the home of an SDLP councillor in Larne was denied
bail in a Belfast court. The PFC is unaware when this attack took place.(IN)
In north Belfast that evening rioting erupted after 600 loyalists blocked the
Crumlin Road. During the rioting, 125 petrol bombs and 6 blast bombs were thrown.
Loyalist paramilitaries fired 50 shots, while the RUC fired 9 plastic bullets.
The rioting continued until 4.00am. (NBN)
September 26, Wednesday.
Thirteen people appeared in court on charges connected
with rioting in the Ardoyne area over the 12th of July this year (IN).
A delegation from the Fountain in Derry met security minister Jane Kennedy to
discuss ongoing sectarian attacks on the mainly Protestant estate. (LS, IN)
The RUC arrested and then released two men after a car believed to have been
involved in the hit-and-run killing of west Belfast Catholic Con Butler was
found burned out in the loyalist Cupar Way. (IN)
Loyalists threw fireworks over police lines at parents going to pick up their
children from Holy Cross, before going on to blockade the Crumlin Road. Sometime
later, loyalists threw blast bombs at Catholic workers in the nearby Brookfield
Mill. (IN, BBC)
Later, up to 700 people in north Belfast were involved in what some commentators
described as the north's most serious rioting since the hunger strikes in 1981.
35 RUC officers were injured during the rioting which security chiefs said was
orchestrated by the UDA. More than 50 live rounds and two bursts of automatic
gunfire were fired during disturbances in which six blast bombs, 125 petrol
bombs and several fireworks were thrown. The RUC claimed they returned four
live rounds and nine plastic bullets. (IN, BBC)
September 27, Thursday.
Holy Cross parents received death threats from the Red
Hand Defenders, a cover-name for the UDA (IN).
A Queens University survey revealed that Catholic teenagers in Northern Ireland
were more likely to have been the victim of sectarian assault or threatening
behaviour than young Protestants. The same survey also revealed that 38.5 percent
of all teenagers had been taunted because of their religion while 22.3 percent
had been physically assaulted or threatened because of their religion. (IN)
A massive security force presence greeted the parents and pupils of the Holy
Cross School following an escalation in the loyalist protest. (IN)
Security chiefs said they believed that elements of the UDA had been orchestrating
much of the recent violence in north Belfast. The security force presence was
stepped up outside Holy Cross School, bringing to 200 the number of personnel
protecting 70 children, the largest presence so far. (IN)
One hundred and fifty loyalists rioted with the RUC in Cambrai Street, north
Belfast, hurling petrol bombs, rocks and fireworks. Loyalists fired 29 shots
at the RUC, who fired eight plastic bullets in return. (IN, RUC)
It was reported that Security Minister Jane Kennedy was expected to make an
announcement that new peaceline fencing would shortly be erected at the rear
of Catholic homes on Newington Street in north Belfast (NBN).
September 28, Friday.
Loyalists were blamed for throwing a concrete slab through
the window of a bus carrying children to Hazelwood Integrated College in Belfast
(a cross-community high school). Five of the children received hospital treatment
for their injuries. (IN, RUC)
The UDA promised to halt its violence in north Belfast. The move came as Secretary
of State John Reid threatened to declare the organisation's cease-fire over.
Various media sources reported a marked decrease in violence in north Belfast
as a result of this announcement. (IT, IN,G, BBC)
The first of a series of planned 'Grand Protestant Rallies' was held in Ballymena.
The Pat Finucane Centre has taken legal advice on whether some of the remarks
made constituted incitement to hatred and as a result have asked the Chief Constable
of the RUC to investigate the matter. Among the speakers that night was Mark
Harbinson, a spokesperson for the Loyalist Cultural Society (LCS), who said
that he was now looking forward to "B52 bombers over Dublin" in the
wake of the USA's war against terrorism.
Another speaker, Grand Protestant Committee spokesman Ray Hamill, reminded the
audience that "the most evil men in history", Hitler, Mussolini and
Ribbentrop were all Roman Catholics. He also accused Tony Blair of having a
Roman Catholic agenda, because his wife, Cherie Blair, is a Catholic, and pointed
out that the Secretary of State, John Reid, is also a Catholic.
Three more 'Grand Protestant Rallies' are planned for the beginning of the new
year - in Lisburn (January), Newtownards (February) and Craigavon (March 15,
the anniversary of the murder of Rosemary Nelson) building towards some sort
of threatened climax in April.
It has since emerged that the rallies may be used to recruit members to the
extreme fundamentalist Orange Volunteers paramilitary group. The rally was organised
by the Lisburn-based LCS, owners of the "Loyalist Voice" website which
carries insignia, memorabilia and press statements from the proscribed Orange
Volunteers.
A request appeared on the Loyalist Voice site from "Coleraine Loyalist"
asking how to join the Orange Volunteers. The editor of the LCS site responded,
telling the person to contact either the website with a private message, or
the security staff at the next rally for instructions.
The exchange read:
"Coleraine Loyalist
Can you explain to me why our so-called loyalist paramilitaries are no longer
interested in the real cause they are supposed to stand for? P.S Is there a
local branch of OVs [Orange Volunteers] in Coleraine? I'm interested in joining?
"Editor1
Have you been to any rallies? There are 3 more coming up soon. Maybe you could
make yourself known (private message) or to the security staff on the night
and what you are about"
There are a number of such 'private messages' on the site that cannot be accessed
by anyone other than the site editors. Responses from the 'Editor' can also
only be placed by the site editors.
The section of the site on which this appeared has since been closed down and
re-opened, so this request no longer appears. (ST, PFC)
At 10:30pm, as the Ballymena rally came to an end, men in a silver Ford Orion
drew up alongside investigative reporter Martin O'Hagan, who was walking home
from his local pub in Lurgan, Co Armagh, with his wife Marie. A gunman leaned
out of the passenger window and opened fire, killing the 51-year-old father
of three. Martin O'Hagan was hated in loyalist circles because of his regular
exposés on loyalist drug dealing, the LVF, and its former leader, Billy
Wright. The killing was claimed by the RHD, but security sources immediately
blamed the LVF. Marty O'Hagan was the first journalist murdered in the course
of the conflict. (The Guardian of 17 November carried an extensive article on
the murder from Susan Mc Kay) (Obs, IN, BBC, PFC, ST, IoS)
September 29, Saturday.
The President of the Methodist Church in Ireland and
the Church of Ireland Bishop of Clogher called for an end to the violence in
north Belfast (IN).
A GAA clubhouse in Dundrum was attacked by arsonists. (RUC)
September 30, Sunday.
Violence on the streets escalated despite the promise
by the UDA to control its members in north Belfast (SBP).
There were sectarian clashes in Derry following a Celtic/Rangers match. Fireworks,
bottles and stones were thrown by rival factions, and an old people's home was
attacked. (IN, DJ, RUC)
Members of the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) in Lurgan, Portadown, and Dungannon
are said to have been directly involved in the murder of journalist Martin O'Hagan
(SBP).
Sources:
| AN: | Andersonstown News | |
| BT: | Belfast Telegraph | |
| BBC: | BBC radio and television news, BBC online, Radio Foyle | |
| CW: | Local community workers | |
| DJ: | Derry Journal | |
| DN: | Derry News | |
| IN: | Irish News | |
| IT: | Irish Times | |
| ITN: | Independent Television News | |
| LS: | Londonderry Sentinel | |
| NBelfN: | North Belfast News | |
| NL: | Newsletter | |
| OB: | Observer | |
| PFC: | Pat Finucane Centre | |
| RM: | RM Distribution | |
| RUC: | Royal Ulster Constabulary press office | |
| SBP: | Sunday Business Post | |
| SI: | Sunday Independent | |
| UTV: | Ulster Television |