Garvaghy trouble provoked by RUC
By Peadar Whelan
Local residents and international journalists have expressed
outrage at the distorted version of events that has appeared in
the media following the combined loyalist, Orange, RUC and
British Army attack on the Garvaghy Road community last weekend.
Their anger centres on the media's acceptance of the RUC's
version of events, the portrayal of nationalists as the
instigators and claims in certain sections of the media that
``republicans are to launch a propaganda attack on the RUC''.
Speaking to residents and international journalists after the RUC
and loyalists left 14 wounded following Saturday's `junior'
Orange parade, An Phoblacht has discovered the true version of
events.
Local councillor Brendan MacCoinnaith confirmed that in the run
up to Saturday's parade, the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition
were only notified of the march on Wednesday. MacCoinnaith was
then contacted on Thursday by the head of the Parades Commission,
Alistair Graham, who said the commission viewed the march as
non-contentious.
MacCoinnaith tried to explain to Graham that the march not only
had a history of confrontation, but the NIO was also in the
process of building a `peacewall' in the area due to attacks on
nationalists. The councillor pointed out that the adjoining King
Street and Park Road both had a history of attacks on residents.
MacCoinnaith told Graham that ``not one week goes past without
trouble.''
MacCoinnaith also confirmed that he talked to the local Parades
Commission Authorised officer, who attempted to persuade the RUC
to place restrictions on the march. They refused to do this.
Alistair Graham apparently reached his decision based soley on
RUC reports that the march was non-contentious, without prior
dialogue with local residents.
Later in the week MacCoinnaith spoke to the RUC sub-divisional
commander, Bailie, about incidents on Obins Drive earlier in the
week. MacCoinnaith also attempted to discuss the march with the
RUC man but was curtly told that it was not up for negotiation as
the Parades Commission had ruled that it was non-contentious,
despite the fact that the RUC has been forced to constantly
patrol the area.
British Army and riot clad RUC units dressed in black entered
Castle Street and the park in the lower Garvaghy Road area at
7.30am, 90 minutes before the Orange march was due to pass under
the Shillington and Railway Bridges past many nationalist homes.
They would stay the whole day. With over 20 jeeps in the park,
councillor Joe Duffy was forced to plead with the RUC and British
Army to vacate the park at 3.30pm in an attempt to defuse the
anger of young people of the area.
The morning march passed off relatively quietly as the crown
force units remained in formation at the top of Castle Street and
the Orange `boys' left without turning on local residents. But
tension in an area that has seen loyalist attacks on Obins Drive
throughout the previous week and has too much experience of crown
force saturation and state violence could only increase.
When the `junior' Orange parade returned later that evening it
was accompanied not only by 500-600 loyalists who congregated
under the two brigdes but also by a number of `blood and thunder'
bands including the Portadown Young Defenders, who had been
banned by the Orange Order since 1992 when it broke ranks and
attacked local people on the Garvaghy Road.
Icelandic film crew was visiting the area to make a film about
the prospects for peace following the referendum vote. They ended
up being stranded in the middle of this loyalist crowd. They
reported being threatened and abused by the crowd, who they
described as ``drunken''.
hour and 40 minutes later, the peaceful nationalist protest
was disrupted by the first RUC baton charge, at 6.25pm.
MacCoinnaith told An Phoblacht that as he requested that the RUC
get a senior officer to the scene to defuse the situation, a
young child nicked a baton from an unsuspecting RUC man. The
youngster then threw the baton among the nationalist protesters
and when a man bent down to pick it up the RUC broke formation
and charged.
The first man to be beaten, who wishes to remain anonymous, said
that as he turned to intervene between two children and an RUC
man he was lashed about the head and body with a baton. The man
said, ``you could see it was going to happen. You could see the
hate on their faces.'' He asked, ``why did they [the crown forces]
stay in, they kept up the tension. There was no call for them to
be here all day.''
Dara O'Hagan, the SF assembly candidate for the area, said that
eight people were injured by plastic bullets and another two
received serious baton injuries. She said that two had been shot
in the chest, one in the stomach and one freelance cameraman was
hit in the elbow as he was taking pictures. She added, ``these
injuries indicate that plastic bullets were fired above waist
height, in contravention of RUC guidelines.''
A second RUC baton charge occurred at around 7.45 when the RUC
attempted to clear the road to allow the marchers through.
According to O'Hagan one man was attacked on his Castle Street
doorstep by loyalists as the RUC stood idly by. One witness
reported seeing one RUC man remove his helmet and throw it to the
ground saying he was ``totally disgusted''. The injured man is
expected to be in hospital for at least six weeks with a
shattered hip, broken leg, dislocated elbow and severe brusing.
One Castle Street witness said that ``loyalists laden down with
carryouts'' threatened to burn `Catholic bastards out'.
A resident who witnessed the entire RUC attack from the nearby
Costcutters saw one man shot in the chest as be returned to the
adjacent pub from the bookies. She described how she saw his
snooker partner looking for him as he lay on the ground,
``bleeding heavily, snow-white and unable to breath''.
Far from being a riot situation, local residents said that at no
time were there more than 20 youths throwing stones and that no
more than two petrol bombs were thrown. Most seriously they say
that the RUC opened fire with plastic bullets well before any
missiles were thrown. Residents also claim that no blast bombs
were thrown, rather there were two incidents of fire crackers
inside tin cans being thrown.
MacCoinnaith also said that an orderly at the local hospital had
said that no crown force members had been brought in on the day
in question despite RUC claims that a number of their personnel
had been injured.
Despite media reports that there was six hours of rioting,
residents claim that there were only two RUC instigated clashes
over a ninety minute period and that by 9pm the Garvaghy Road was
quiet as the RUC had scattered people off the road at 7.45pm.
Residents also claim that the later trouble was totally separate
and occurred at around 2.45am as drunken youths burnt a van in
Park Road.
American freelance film-maker also reported having her film
confiscated by the RUC.
Dara O'Hagan was part of the Sinn Fein delegation which met Tony
Blair at Stormont on Tuesday. She told him of the anger Garvaghy
Road residents feel at Saturday's attack by the RUC on their
community and the use of plastic bullets on peaceful nationalist
protestors.
After the meeting Dara O'Hagan said, ``Garvaghy Road should be the
starting point where the politics of exclusion, of
marginalisation and second class citizenship are left behind for
ever.'' She called on ``both the Orange Order and David Trimble to
take up the repeated offers of local residents to meet with
them.''
The Mayor of Drogheda has promised to highlight the need to
support the residents of Portadown's Garvaghy Road.
Tommy Murphy (Fianna Fáil), Mayor of Drogheda, met a delegation
of Garvaghy Road residents in the Council Chambers on 20 May. He
said ``It is now important to support a peaceful solution to the
problems of the north. All must be treated equally. People must
have peace and security in their own estates. They must have the
freedom to walk into their own town''.
The deputation was led by Independent Councillor Breandan Mac
Cionnaith.
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