Ten years ago this week, schoolgirls and their families making their way to and from the Holy Cross school in north Belfast came under attack on a daily basis.

The families ran a gauntlet of verbal abuse and attacks by loyalist “protestors”, separated by a line of RUC police who formed what became known as the “corridor of hate”.

The attacks, involving bottles, bricks and other missiles, continued on a daily basis for weeks, creating an international outcry.

The following extract from the book ‘Holy Cross: The Untold Story’ by Anne Cadwallader, recounts a notorious episode in recent Irish history.