Republican News · Thursday 2 May 2002

Teenager hit in face by brick

A 19-year-old nationalist from the Limestone Road area of North Belfast was struck in the face last Sunday with a brick thrown by a loyalist.

The incident happened at noon as Martin McNally walked across the Limestone Road towards a friend's house in Newington. Martin said he was walking across the road when four loyalists came up from Tiger's Bay and pelted him.

According to the youth, the loyalists walked right past the RUC/PSNI and British army vehicles stationed at Parkside supposedly to stop such attacks. As usual in such situations, the loyalists retreated into Tiger's Bay and set off a siren, bringing crowds onto the streets.

In the spate of stone throwing that followed, a nationalist woman who went to collect her daughter from the shop was struck on the chest with a rock. She suffered serious bruising.

Following the incident, Martin's father spoke to an RUC/PSNI member who was present and pointed out the loyalists who stoned Martin, but according to Alice McNally, "they just ignored him".

Speaking to An Phoblacht Sinn Féin representative Kathy Stanton accused the RUC/PSNI and the RIR of allowing the loyalists to attack nationalists and then attacking nationalists when they came out to defend their homes.

Springfield sectarian attack

A 24-year-old mother of one was lucky to escape serious injury when she was hit in the face by a brick thrown by loyalists through the window of her Springfield Road home on Wednesday night, 24 April.

Lorraine Murphy was sitting watching television when she was struck, leaving her with a black eye and a bruised cheekbone. "Both my daughter and I have been left traumatised by this attack. It is not only the physical scars but the mental scars that these attacks leave with you," she said.

The Springfield Road is under constant threat of attack from by loyalists, especially in the run up to the marching season.

Schoolboy has lucky escape

A 13-year-old schoolboy has become the latest pupil from St Joseph's college on the Ravenhill Road to be attacked by loyalists in the Ballynafeigh area of South Belfast. The pupil, who doesn't want to be identified, was attacked as he made his way home from school last week.

He said two men attempted to abduct him outside the Ormo Bakery on the upper Ormeau Road, but he managed to escape. On two separate occasions the previous week, teachers and pupils were assaulted.

Sinn Féin Councillor Alex Maskey has insisted the school needs to do more to protect the children and has called for extra buses to get the pupils home safely. He is seeking an urgent meeting with political and community leaders from Ballynafeigh to try to end the assaults.

SF councillor under threat

The chair of Omagh District Council, Sinn Féin's Barry McElduff, has said he has been told by the RUC/PSNI that his life is in danger after a death threat from the Red Hand Defenders. The threat against McElduff and fellow Sinn Féin councillor Micky McAnespie was issued at the weekend at the same time the loyalists issued threats against all the party's councillors in Derry.

Bogeys on the greens

A British Army foot patrol harassed a group of golfers and forced them to abandon their game at the Clover Hill Golf Club in South Armagh last week.

Golfers said as a result of the intimidation a number of people abandoned their games. Course owner Pat Smyth said the club is undergoing a revamp, with each new green costing £25,000. He had asked the British Army and RUC/PSNI patrol to keep to the fairways but they ignored him and walked across the middle of the greens and tee boxes.