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"Why
Did
Others
Have
to Disturb Us?"
A
PLAIN TRUTH correspondent
on the scene in Nortbern I re–
land details a little-reported aspect
of the tragedy in Ulster, that of
intirnidation.
"Please, rnister, tell the world the
truth of what is realiy happening
over here," pleaded the middle-aged
woman.
She was a Rornan Catholic who
was talking to me while I photo·
graphed sorne burned-out houses in
the Ardoyne district of Belfast.
With tears in her eyes, she poured
out her heart, telling how sorne of
her best friends had lost their homes.
And she was talking about Protes–
tants as well as Catholics! She de–
scribed one Protestant neighbor as
"a good Christian woman who
wouldn't harrn a soul."
6
One of the biggest problems for
the authorities to combat is int imi–
dat ion. A department has been set
up to deal with this, with special
telephone numbers for. people to
ring, yet many citizens of both corn–
munities have been too fearful of
reprisals to make use of this service.
During a two-day strike called
by Protestant leaders, many people
told of having to stop work because
of threatening telephone calls.
Earlier, the Catholic-dominated
Civil Rights Association called for
a "rent and cates" strike in protest
against the government. This has
been very effective in Catholic arcas.
Again, sorne people have been intimi–
dated into support of the
C.
R. A.
cause against their will. Sorne people
send their money to the local council
by post because of the fear of being
seen visiting the office or having the
rent collector call. One collector told
me that rnany said, "Yes, I want to
pay, but I dare not." Others said,
"Here's the money, but don't rnark
my rent card, so when l'm 'checked
on' they will not know I paid."
Sorne people would be willing to
inform on
l.
R. A. terrorists, but fear
of being shot holds thern back.
The use of intimidation is just
another proof that many do not sup–
port violencc or even the claims of
their own group.
Over the years before the present
troubles began, great efforts had
been made to integrate the two sides
in housing and communal life. Most
new estates, and many old ones,
were "mixed." People got along
well together. They lived together;
their chi ldren played together,
with the main distinctions being in
separate schooling and, of course,
separate churches.
Even today there are still areas
of Belfast, such as Ligoniel and
Whitehouse, and towns and villagcs,
such as Kircubbin, Co. Down, where
Protestants and Catholics live to–
gether happily. Anyone trying to
cause division is ignored, or perhaps
told to leave.
Numbers of people with moderatc
views are becoming hardened. Even
in sorne of the integrated firrns, the
workers now sit at opposite ends of
the canteen at mealtimes. However,
the majority of the people in
Northern Ireland still wish to have
no part in the troubles. A small
rninority started it all and have kept
the llames alive. The real troubles
only come from the "hard-core"
areas. A Catholic man told me, "A
nurnber of Catholics would acknowl–
edge the Union Jack tomorrow if they
were allowed to."
Most
J
have talked to, both
Catholics and Protestants alike, say,
"We were all doing well and learn–
ing to live with each other. Why
did others have to disturb us ?"
(Contin11ed from page 4)
by French and German enemies"
(Goveming lf/ithout Consenms,
p.
78).
"T he Curse of Crornwell"
Displaced from large areas of land
by the plantation settlers, the I risb
Catholics rebelled in 1641, unleashing
the "Great Massacre of Ulster." The
best estímate from historians is that
approxirnately 4,000 P rotestants were
slain in the uprising, while an addi–
tional 7,000 or 8,000 lost their lives
due to cold and hunger.
T he rebellion provoked the venge–
ful wrath of Oliver Cromwell who
had come to power in England and
abolished the rnonarchy. In 1649,
Cromwell unleashed a reign of terror
upon Ireland, totally destroying the
towns of Drogheda and Wexford
and slaughtering the Irish without
merey. He confiscated ninc tenths of
Ireland and distributed it among En–
glish Protestant settlers.
After Cromwell's wars, only sorne
half rnillion Irish were still alive. Yet
an Irish nation still existed - sep–
arate in mind and more hostile in
spirit than before: "The indiscriminate
inhurnanity with which (Cromwell's]
revenge was exacted ... became indel–
ibly impressed upon the folk memory
of the Irish" (Adrian Clarke,
Cotme
of
lri.rh H
i.rtory,
p.
202).
Decisive Battles
Soon after the death of Cromwell,
tbe British governrnent collapsed and
the Stuart line was restored to the
British throne in L660 in the person
of Charles II. His son was a Catholic,
James II, who was deposed in 1688 in
the "Glorious Revolution" at which
time the Protestant William of Orange
("the Dutchman") assurned the Brit–
ish throne.
In
an attempt to regain his throne,
Catholic James II fomented rebellion
in Ireland against Protestant King
William. James' following was espe–
ciaJly strong in the north of Ireland.
James passed the
Derree
of
Allainder
in which over 3,000 Protestants were
PLAIN TRUTH
June
1972