#248 Drumcree 1995

There were also disturbances and blocked roads across Northern Ireland as protests were organised by loyalists insupport of the Orange Order. On the 9th July 1995, there was a standoff between the RUC and the Orange Order who wished to undertake a marching route along the Garvaghy Road, a mainly Nationalist area.

Box Art

63 The Battle of St Matthew’s

Enshrined in Republican lore, this event saw the Provisional IRA, for five hours, defend its Nationalist community from the grounds of St Matthew’s Catholic Church as Loyalist riot￾ers made incursions into Catholic Short Strand area of East Belfast. Of the six people killed that day, five were Protestants killed by the IRA. The Nationalist community

Loyalists

9 1966 UVF Formed and Declare War The Ulster Volunteer Force was a loyalist paramilitary organisation formed in 1966 by Gusty Spence, a former soldier. With the direct aim of maintaining Northern Ireland’s role as part of the United Kingdom, it saw itself as justified in eliminating the IRA’s Republican intention of bringing about a

1959 Westminster General Election

UPRG

163 Ulster Political Research Group ‘Beyond the Religious Divide’ . This advisory group was set up in conjunction with the Ulster Defence Association and this report was an attempt to define a political path to be taken by them. The document’s main conclusion is for an Independent Northern Ireland to be realised through political means.

72 The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)

The Democratic Unionist Party was created by Desmond Boal and Ian Paisley, evolving from the Protestant Unionist Party.It was directly opposed to the Stormont Unionists, who were open to Power Sharing with Republican and Nationalists, and equally objected to the Republic of Ireland having any involvement in Northern Ireland’s affairs. It campaigned against the 1973

138 Sinn Fein Incident Centres

Sinn Féin was given a concrete presence in the community when the IRA declared a ceasefire in 1975. ‘Incident centres’ were set up to communicate potential confrontations to the British authorities. They were manned by Sinn Féin, which had been legalised the year before by Secretary of State, Merlyn Rees.

65 The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)

The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) was officially created on Friday 21st August 1971 by Gerry Fitt, who would lead the party until John Hume – then Deputy Leader – assumed full control as only their second leader in 1979 until 2001. The SDLP was a Nationalist political party, committed to non-violence and was

132 Sinn Fein Legalised

Secretary of State, Merlyn Rees, declared that he would legalise Sinn Fein on 4th April 1974. He also legalised the UVF and announced the intention to phase out Internment. On 14th May the appropriate legislation was passed at Westminster.