11 July 1921. A truce came into effect in the Irish War of Independence. The post-ceasefire talks led to the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921. This ended British rule in most of Ireland, except for six counties in Northern Ireland. Prof. Frank McDonough @FXMC1957
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Where the catholic population of the 6 counties where terrorised by the bloodthirsty RIC. Unchecked and free to run rampant, terrorising the catholic community, making sure that we knew no catholic was safe nor welcome in this new orange state. The McMahon family murders & the weaver street massacre are just the first 2 examples that come into my head. 2 stories every Irish man and woman should know of. The loyalist murder gangs ran wild, with the protection of the RIC, who would later in 1922 rename itself to the RUC. The very people that carried out these heinous crimes on innocent catholics would later go on to become politicians in the northern gerrymandered state. We where oppressed. We wanted Rights but those rights weren’t to be granted to 2nd class citizens. But eventually, we rose up, with our peaceful demonstrations at burntollet. We marched for civil rights, but even with the eyes of the world on us; they battered us off the roads. The RUC violently shut down our attempts to gain civil rights. We wanted the right to have a job, the right to own a home, the right to vote, the right to be Irish. The loyalist death squads continued on, burning entire catholic streets down ‘Bombay st etc’ simply because we where too close to our Protestant neighbours. In the short strand, a small catholic neighbourhood in east Belfast; they tried to wipe them out. The people of the short strand stood strong, they came under relentless attack, day in day out. Loyalist death squads aided by the glorious RUC. The short strand community survived with help from the likes of Billy McKee but unfortunately not all catholic neighbourhoods would survive. The catholic neighbourhood that once stood where the weaver street massacre occurred, a derelict waste ground these days. And out of the ashes, arose the Provisionals.
We’ve got two teaching diplomas at my house – one is my great grandmother’s, the other is my grandmother’s. One is dated 1900, the other 1940s.
My great grandmother’s one is written entirely in English and makes reference to the Queen. My grandmother’s one is written in Irish and all mention of the British Royal family is gone.
And I’ve just found it so fascinating to have the two hung together and realising the amount of historical changes that occurred between both of these.
Am I wrong in thinking that the war of independence was a pointless exercise in an attempt to overthrow a democratically elected government.
Who married the 3 women, bottom section of newspaper