November 1972: The Irish are "Shocking Old Cry Babies"
"The British Army is operating completely unsupervised"
As it became the norm in the 1970s in Northern Ireland, there were a lot of political developments taking place, where at the time, they may have been perceived as insignificant, but would later prove to be influential in trying to get a grip on the ongoing conflict in the region.
It began on the 2nd of November when Fianna Fáil (then the government in charge in the Republic of Ireland) introduced a bill to the Dáil to remove the special position of the Catholic Church from the Irish Constitution. Naturally, critical members of the church weren’t too happy about this.
On the 5th of November, vice-President of Sinn Féin Máire Drumm was arrested in the Republic of Ireland for seditious speech. In 1972, Drumm famously spoke about the impact internment had had on her and her family.
“at the present time I’m a married woman with a husband in Long Kesh who has been interned for 13 years altogether in three different phases of internment without trial. He went back in 1956 and was in until 1960. Now he’s back since August 9 1971. I’ve had three periods of internment in my life in that I’ve suffered internment as a young girl, having a fiancé in prison, then as a young wife with a husband in prison and five children to rear on my own. And now as a middle aged woman, my husband who’s also middle aged is back in prison again“.
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, William Whitelaw, stated in the House of Commons on the 14th of November, discussing the future of Northern Ireland.
In summary;
I believe it is widely recognised that any solution to the problems of Northern Ireland must be based on a combined political and military approach. There can be no purely military solution at the same time. Any political initiatives will be stillborn if we fail to deal with violence.
It is important to stress these facts because I would not like it to be thought that when today we are discussing the political aspects Her Majesty's Government or this House were in any way neglecting our security responsibilities or minimising the tragic loss of life, the damage to property and the suffering endured by the people of Northern Ireland in these last years. Nor does it mean we are overlooking the steadfastness and achievements of the security forces, both Amy and RUC, under desperately difficult conditions.
I understand that there are those that have grievances and those who feel a very real sense of frustration. But whatever the sense of grievance or frustration, violence can achieve nothing. Northern Ireland has suffered greatly: the United Kingdom has suffered too as all those who have lost their sons serving as members of the forces know only too well. We must be responsible in discussing the future of the province. There are those who say that the answer is quite simply to pull out troops and let the Northern Irish get on with it.
This would be an abdication of responsibility. The situation in Northern Ireland is very complex and it would be a counsel of despair to say we should wash our hands of it. The people of Northern Ireland are our people and we must help them to find a solution.
Some would argue that such a solution lies with complete independence.
There is also what might be described as the simple and logical view. This says that if the majority of people in Northern Ireland decide that they wish to remain part of the United Kingdom then they should be treated in every way exactly the same as the rest of the United Kingdom.
The Paper for Discussion attempts to put a reasonable limit on the options open to us all in Northern Ireland, setting a framework within which the debate should now take place. It shows that one cannot ignore the financial support which Northern Ireland receives from the United Kingdon: it shows that for the time being at least the maintenance of law and order depends upon the untiring and unselfish contributions of the armed forces: and that the United Kingdon Government must have an effective and continuing say in Northern Irish affairs to match its financial and military contributions. These are the facts of life. It is also a fact of life that Northern Ireland must be seen in a wider context - as part of Ireland and as a part of Europe.
You can read the statement in full here.
Interestingly, a few days later British Prime Minster Edward Heath warned against a Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
On the 19th of November, a week after giving a controversial interview to RTÉ radio (below), IRA Chief of Staff Seán Mac Stíofáin was sentenced to six months imprisonment by the Special Criminal Court in Dublin. Mac Stíofáin immediately began a hunger strike.
Irish Prime Minister Jack Lynch met with British Prime Minister Edward Heath on the 24th of November in London to give Irish approval to Attlee's paper that said new arrangements should be 'acceptable to and accepted by the Republic of Ireland.'
There was an interesting viewpoint given by Father Desmond Wilson in Rosita Sweetman’s book 'On Our Knees’, where Father Wilson gave his views on the violence in the region before Direct Rule.
‘The effects of violence on this community though have been disastrous. Apathy is the end result. It’s terribly difficult to get people going. But the level of viciousness and brutality that the British Army has introduced into this area has brought in standards of violence of which the people had no experience.
The British Army is operating completely unsupervised in this area. they’re the authority. You have been roaring up and down in your Saracens day and night. They sit on the roadside waiting for people to come along and then simply snatch them off the streets, They bring them in and then ask the RUC if they have anything on them. These are perfectly innocent people being taken away for two days questioning, usually a thumping, and nobody in the world knows where they are for those two days.
You might have thought in a situation like this you’d have the Church listening to the complaints people make about the Army, yet the Church has never said anything, not one single thing. You might wonder why they didn’t put observers in every single area where there have been complaints about British Army brutality, but would you believe that they didn’t even think of this? They just couldn’t care less, and yet the people here are living with the fear that if they go outside their front door they are liable to be picked up by the British Army, just on the off chance they’d turn out to be a “suspect”.’
In stark contrast to the view of Father Wilson, General Officer Commanding Harry Truzo, during a morning meeting with the Secretary of State, said the following;
The discrediting of the Army, along with the RUC and all concerned in maintaining law and order has been a prime aim of Republican propaganda since about mid-1971. We refer loosely to such a campaign as “IRA Propaganda” because the only people who stand to gain from it are the IRA. In reality, much of what is alleged arises out of anti-British or anti-authoritarian sentiment not directly linked to support for the IRA. Nevertheless, it is the IRA that stimulates and directs popular attitudes so as to bring pressure to bear to curtail effective counter-terrorist methods. In so far as Army activity to diminish the power of the IRA bears heavily on the civil population part of the campaign is self-generating, since people who resent our activities are never slow to report their sufferings, real or imagined. Honor Tracy described the special Irish talent in this sphere in these words;
“The charitable might say that the Irish tend not to minimise their sufferings; the candid that they are shocking old cry babies. If anyone lays a finger on them the world must hear of it with embellishment. And like children, they believe in their own fantasies… Furthermore, nothing that happens, no action of troops or police, relates in any way to anything done by themselves. Nothing is ever their fault, nor do they ever do wrong.”
On Wednesday the 29th of November, a letter was written by R.A. Custis, who was with the Ministry of Defence at the time, to the Prime Minister's office. This letter was released to the public records in January 2003. This document dealt with the issue of members of the Ulster Defence Regiment who were also "associated" with the Loyalist paramilitary group the Ulster Defence Association. You can read the letter in full here.
Shootings in November 1972
08/11/72 - UDR soldier Irwin Long (29), was shot dead by the IRA while driving his car along Lake Street, Lurgan, County Armagh.
10/11/72 - British soldier Ronald Kitchen (20), was shot dead by the IRA while manning a vehicle checkpoint, at Oldpark Road, Belfast.
11/11/72 - The "Red Hand Commandos" shot dead a Catholic civilian (Gerard Kelly, 58), at his newsagent's shop, Crumlin Road, Belfast.
12/11/72 - The UDA shot dead a Catholic civilian Joseph McCrystal (28) as he got out of a car on Arthur Street, Newtownabbey. A close relative told the inquest that he had likely been the intended target. The relative had been imprisoned in Long Kesh and lived on Longlands Road, Newtownabbey. The relative added: "I appeared in court three times and each time my address was published in newspapers as Longlands Park, where he (Mr McCrystal) lived".
13/11/72 - IRA volunteer Stanislaus Carberry (34), was shot dead by the British Army while driving his car along La Salle Drive, near Falls Road, Belfast.
14/11/72 - British soldier Stanley Evans (19), was shot dead by the IRA as he stood guarding homes being raided by the British Army, Stanhope Street, Unity Flats, Belfast.
15/11/72 - The UDA shot dead a Catholic civilian George Doherty (32), at his home on Sintonville Avenue, Belfast.
20/11/72 - Taxi driver William Clarke (41), died three weeks after being shot by his UDA passenger on Forthriver Road, Belfast. The gunman believed the driver was a Catholic.
21/11/72 - The UVF shot dead a Catholic civilian, Joseph McIlroy (30), at his home on Sandhill Drive, Bloomfield, Belfast.
22/11/72 - Off-duty UDR soldier Samuel Porter (30), was shot dead by the IRA at his home, Ballinahone, near Maghera, County Derry/Londonderry.
22/11/72 - The UDA shot dead a Catholic civilian Liam Shivers (48), outside his home near Castledawson, County Derry/Londonderry.
26/11/72 - A Garda, two civilians and two Provisional IRA volunteers were injured during an exchange of shots after a foiled attempt to free IRA Chief of Staff Seán Mac Stíofáin when an 8-man IRA unit embarked on a rescue attempt, two members of the IRA unit were disguised as priests during the unsuccessful attempt.
27/11/72 - The UVF shot dead a 14-year-old Catholic civilian, Rory Gormley, who was travelling in a car at the junction of Downing and Ariel streets, Shankill, Belfast.
30/11/72 - The UDA shot dead Catholic civilian Gerard Gearon (22), outside Mater Hospital on Crumlin Road, Belfast. Two UDA men got into a taxi with him on Clifton Street. When they reached the hospital one said he was ill and the taxi stopped. They got out, walked to the front of the car and opened fire. The driver was wounded in the attack.
Bombings in November 1972
02/11/72 - The UDA's Londonderry Brigade claimed responsibility for bombing the Hole in the Wall pub in St Johnston, County Donegal, Republic of Ireland. UDA volunteers ordered everyone out of the pub and then destroyed it with a grenade.
05/11/72 - The UDA claimed responsibility for bombing a mineral water plant in Muff, County Donegal.
16/11/72 - RUC officer Joseph Calvin (42), was killed by an under-car IRA booby trap bomb which detonated in car park, Quay Lane, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.
19/11/72 - The UDA's Londonderry Brigade claimed responsibility for bombing a car showroom in Bridgend, Inishowen, County Donegal.
20/11/72 - British soldiers William Watson (28) and James Strothers (31), were killed by a booby-trap IRA bomb hidden in an abandoned house in Cullyhanna, County Armagh.
21/11/72 - The UDA, suspected to be working in coordination with the British Army and RUC Special Branch, bombed Aghalane Bridge connecting County Fermanagh and County Cavan. A leading UDA member and Ulster Unionist Party councillor on Fermanagh District Council organised the attack. These claims were identified by an audio interview taped by the Imperial War Museum with Captain Vernon Rees. Rees admitted that he agreed to a request to keep troops away from the bridge for four hours while Loyalists bombed Aghalane. I haven’t heard the recording, but this report is quite intriguing, to say the least.
26/11/72 - There was a bomb explosion at the Film Centre Cinema, in O'Connell Bridge House in Dublin. A late film was being shown and although no one was killed, approximately 40 people required hospital treatment. The explosion happened at 1:25 am and the bomb had been placed outside the rear exit door of the Film Centre Cinema in a laneway connecting Burgh Quay to Leinster Market. The 'Interim Report on the Report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Dublin Bombings of 1972 and 1973', concluded that: "... it seems more likely than not that the bombing of the Film Centre Cinema was carried out by republican subversives as a response to a Government 'crackdown' on the IRA and their associates".
28/11/72 - The IRA fired 15 rockets at ten security posts throughout Northern Ireland. RUC officer Robert Keys (55), was killed in a rocket attack on Belleek RUC/British Army base, County Fermanagh. This marks the first recorded use of an RPG-7 by the IRA.
28/11/72 - Two IRA volunteers, John Brady (21) and James Carr (19), were killed in a premature bomb explosion in the Bogside, Derry.
28/11/72 - British Army bomb disposal expert, Paul Jackson (21), was killed while attempting to defuse an IRA bomb, on Strand Road, Derry.
As always, thanks very much for reading this and I hope you enjoyed it enough to come back on Thursday to read the next instalment. Don’t forget to click on the share button below to send it to any of your friends who you think would also enjoy reading my work.
Some recommended reading based on research for this instalment of Tales of The Troubles.