St Matthew's Chapel attacked
The so-called ``quiet Twelfth'' was not so quiet for the residents of the
East Belfast nationalist enclave of the Short Strand.
A group of up to 150 loyalists, most wearing purple UDA T-shirts, attempted
to attack St Matthew's Catholic Chapel in the Short Strand at around 6.30pm
on Monday, 12 July.
The loyalist gang attempted to enter the church but were kept back by local
residents. The RUC then moved in but failed to disperse the attackers and a
stand-off situation developed between the residents and the loyalist
attackers.
Speaking at the scene, Dominic Corr, the local Sinn Féin representative
said: ``Loyalist attacks are nothing new to our community. In particular,
attacks during the marching season are a common occurrence. We were hoping
that this year might be different, but this evening's incident has once
again highlighted the vulnerability of our district.
``In addition, we have seen the RUC blatantly refusing to deal effectively
with a serious situation. This also comes as no surprise. Tonight's
incident highlights the disparity between the public portrayal of the
Twelfth as a carnival day and the very different reality for many
nationalists.''
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