Conclusions

The dark days of the 20^th century are over, however, the legacy of Northern Ireland’s troubles continues to cast its shadow over the country to this day.

Although there was a clear sectarian divide before The Troubles, the violence and fear of violence have led to a continuation of division in working class areas of Belfast. The “Peace Lines” are an ever present reminder that there is still fear of sectarian violence. While people across Northern Ireland want the walls to be taken down, many of those actually living along the walls have made clear their desire for the walls to remain. While the government of Northern Ireland is attempting to have all of the walls down by 2025, it is looking increasingly unlikely that they will be able to accomplish this.

The paramilitary groups that brought terror to the streets of Belfast, Londonderry, and the rest of Northern Ireland have a very overt presence in Ulster. While they all claimed to disarm in the early 2000s, hundreds of punishment shootings and a handful of murders speak against that. Realizing that terrorism is no longer profitable, Loyalist groups like the UDA and the UVF act in an almost mafia like manner in protestant areas across Ulster, and drug smuggling, prostitution, racketeering, and murder are not acts that they shy away from. On the Republican side, dissidents groups like the New IRA act in the same manner as the Loyalists, although they also still lead an armed struggle against Her Majesty’s government. While they have failed to gain any support from the vast majority of the Catholic population, they’re dangerous none the less, and even today occasionally succeed in killing or injuring members of the security services.

Because of the continued threat of terrorism and prevalence of violent protests, the PSNI remains a well-armed and well equipped police force. They remain the only armed police service in the United Kingdom, and armoured Land Rovers still seem to be their patrol vehicle of choice. However, they have made some important steps since 1998, and policies like 50/50 recruitment have strengthened the idea that the PSNI is a neutral force serving both communities. However, the PSNI is still criticized by many, including Sinn Fein, Northern Ireland’s second largest political party. Meanwhile, the courts continue to investigate some of the more controversial killings from The Troubles, and 56 incidents are still under review.

It’ll take years for the memories and mistrust from The Troubles to disappear. While Northern Ireland today is leaps and bounds above how it was, the violent days of The Troubles are in living memory of many people here. Murals and memorials to those who fought and died are still well kept, radicals continue to try to bring back the war, and some communities remain as separated as before. While the fighting may be over, its legacy certainly lives on.

Finally, here are the outcomes of my survey. I survey 50 people from Belfast and Londonderry. The vertical axis should be read as percentages of respondents, not actual number of respondents.

Ring of Steel

While last Sunday’s church service may show how reconciliation is making inroads in Ulster, today’s events show how bellicose the sectarian divide still is. This morning the P.S.N.I launched a major operation in Belfast. They blocked every route that flows into Royal Avenue, Belfast’s central street, forming what the Belfast Telegraph described as a “Ring of Steel.” Only a select few were allowed through the P.S.N.I’s blockade: the Catholics having yet another Easter Rising Commemorative March, the 150 or so Protestants there to protest the march, the police officers there to separate the two, and the media.

Belfast's "Ring of Steel"

 While I may not fall into any of those categories, I was determined to find a way in. As I approached the barricade of Land-Rovers that restricted all movement down Royal Avenue, I ducked into an alley to the left thinking that there’d be a way around, however I was almost immediately stopped by three policemen waiting at the corner. I told them that I was looking to go to the Castlecourt mall, but was told that the mall was closed for the duration of the Republican parade. Thanking them for the information, I walked back onto Royal and noticed a handful of protesters, carrying Union Flags, move off under police escort down another street on the other side of the road. Trailing them, I snaked through several back alleys before they slipped out of sight.

Barricaded Side Street

Disappointed and out of options, I decided that there wasn’t any way through the police line. Fortunately, lady luck decided to smile on me. A policewoman nearby asked if I was one of the Protestant protesters, I instinctively blurted out “yes,” and she pointed to her left, telling me to hurry up or I’d be left behind. I quickly made my way down the empty side street she’d pointed out, and discovered the protesters as they were passing through a line of stationary Land-Rovers. One of the protesters, an older man wearing an eye-catching orange safety vest and a Union Flag beanie, asked me if “I had a pass.” When I admitted I didn’t have one he thrust a bright blue sheet of paper into my hands and told me to show it to any police officer that tried to stop me. With paper in hand I joined the Protestant crowd and made my way into the “Ring of Steel.” As this little band of brothers approached the designated area of protest some police officers, armed with high definition cameras instead of handguns, took photos and videos of us. The police would record our actions throughout the entire protest. We were let loose in a little pen that took up about 200 metres of pavement directly opposite of Castlecourt Mall. In front of us the P.S.N.I had set up a heavy metal barricade, which was reinforced by a line of police officers. Across Royal Avenue, they left us a subtle reminder that they were prepared for anything; their plastic riot shields and black helmets were lined up all along Castlecourt’s outer wall. Under these watchful eyes the Protestants quickly went about fortifying their little stretch of land, using cable ties to hang Union Flags from the lamp posts and steeling themselves for the coming confrontation with the Catholics.

The First Union Flag Raised at the Protest

The sky turned from blue to grey, the wind picked up, and the surprisingly dry weather evolved into the more familiar Belfast drizzle. After about twenty minutes; the P.S.N.I had driven several convoys of Land-Rovers past us, we’d listened to the hovering police helicopter drone on above us, and some of the women in the crowd were beginning to get irritated. A group of about five of them, led by a middle aged brunette, strutted up to the metal barricade and began to confront the police officers standing nearby. Demanding to know whether the P.S.N.I used this type of force “on the Falls [Road]” and insisting that “We pay your wages,” they began to stir up the other Protestant’s nearby. “I just want to get through and bash one of them,” one woman yelled, almost certainly referring to the approaching Catholic marchers. One of the police officers approached the group and began to talk to them, and after a bit of banter he managed to calm them down a bit, although when the parade arrived they’d be some of the most aggressive among the protesters.

We waited for another forty minutes before we began to hear distant drumbeats. As the sound of the march echoed down our street, the Protestants let out a rousing battle cry and rushed to the metal barrier. The parades commission had determined that the Republicans could only play a single drumbeat as they passed by the protesters, and the steady sound of the drum created a feeling of impending peril. As soon as the first of the Republicans appeared they were met by Protestant screams of “murderers” and “scumbags.” The Catholics weren’t the most diplomatic of crowds either; they marched with IRA flags and smug faces past the angry group, hurling similar insults back in reply. The women from earlier now began to lead the Protestants in the singing of “No Pope of Rome,” a Loyalist sectarian folk song. The air was quickly filled with the sounds of cursing and jeering, and whistles and air horns screeched above the voices all mixed in with the steady beat of the drum. Both Protestant and Catholic had phones out and filmed each other, at the same time many covered their faces to avoid being filmed.

The parades commission allowed the marchers to start drumming normally the very second they passed a designated land-rover, which was so close to the protesters that the drummers leading the march had passed the Land-Rover while a large portion of the Catholics was still in front of the Protestants. Their invigorated drumbeats reverberated down the whole of Royal Avenue, and when this sound reached the Protestants they all started rushed along the barricades screaming. Masked young men ran behind me calling out “Up the UVF!” and one even hurled something at the marchers. The Catholics responded in turn by screaming back, and the whole situation was very tense.

Slowly the last of the green flags of the Republic fluttered away, and the sounds of the drums faded into the distance, the Protestants gathered up for one final act of defiance, singing “God Save the Queen.” It only took about six minutes for the parade to march past us, but in that time I certainly saw how antagonistic Northern Ireland’s sectarian divide is. Even if there is only a small group of people on either side who would be willing to resort to violence, there certainly still seems to be the potential for this small group to spark something much larger.

I managed to get the events of the march on tape, which you can watch below.

 Video of March and Protest

Until Next Time!

-Luke van Reede van Oudtshoorn

God and Guerillas

Not all of Belfast’s history centres on the city’s sectarian division, and sometimes when faced with an outside threat, both Protestant and Catholic worked hand in hand to protect the homeland that they hold dear. During the dark days of 1941, German bombs flattened large parts of the city. Belfast’s shipbuilding prowess was vital to Britain’s war effort, and Hitler’s Reich spared no expense in its attempt to eliminate this wing of Britain’s wartime industry. Over 1,000 civilians would die during the Belfast Blitz, and now, 75 years on, people from both the Protestant and Catholic communities came together in commemoration of the fallen.

St. Anne's Cathedral

The mourners gathered in St. Anne’s Cathedral on Donegall Street. At 3:00 in the afternoon, hundreds began their quiet walk through the cathedral’s heavy doors and into the spacious atrium inside. The sunlight shone through the colourful, stain-glass windows of Moses and St. Patrick illuminated British military flags; traditionally left to hang in a church until they rot away. These banners remained silently suspended above us, reminding us all of the Church of Ireland’s allegiance to the Anglican Communion. 

Royal Navy Flag in a Cathedral

However, while this service was in a Protestant church it was not an exclusively Protestant event. Both the Lord Mayor, a Catholic through and through, and the administrator of the nearby Roman Catholic Cathedral were in attendance. As the service began, all of Belfast’s divisions seemed to dissolve through combined faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Protestant and Catholic remembered the fallen, and prayed for peace on Earth.

Worshipers Leaving St. Anne's

Unfortunately, there are those in Belfast who are still not prepared to beat their swords into ploughshares, and last Friday the Irish Republican Army claimed another victim. The 33 year old father of four was shot three times in the legs and bled to death in the North Belfast estate of Ardoyne. This is the same neighbourhood where the P.S.N.I believes bombing of the prison officer in March was carefully planned out. I’ve attached a link to a B.B.C article below if you wish to read anything more about this dreadful killing.

B.B.C Article

Next Week: conclusions

Until Next Time!

Luke van Reede van Oudtshoorn

1000 Days of Protest

Easter marks the beginning of Northern Ireland’s “marching season,” a time lasting until August which is generally regarded as the tensest time of the year. The season peaks on 12 July, when the conservative Protestant Orange societies lead huge celebrations of the victory at the Battle of the Boyne, where Protestant King William III defeated Catholic King James II and reasserted Protestant control of Ireland.

The Loyal People's Protest Joins the March

Members of the Loyal People's Protest Previously Seen on St. Patrick's Day

Even though it’s not July yet the Protestants have already begun to march, and gathering behind the ornate Orange Hall on Clifton Street, protest bands began to form up, preparing to mark the 1000th day of their opposition to the parades commission’s decision to block an Orange march in 2013 (the Orangemen I saw last Saturday were protesting this same decision). There must have been at least 1,000 people preparing to march or follow the parade down to Twadell Avenue, where the police wait in order to ensure that the march doesn’t pass by the Catholic area of Ardoyne. Ranging from highly professional groups in bright and ornate uniforms, to groups of teens in tracksuits and jeans, Protestants from all walks of life came together join in what was described by fliers pasted around the Protestant Shankill Road as an attempt to “highlight the injustice and discrimination against the protestant Community and to support the local orange parading tradition.”

Flier Advertising the March

Some Marchers in Diverse Outfits

 The bands were spread out during the march, in what an ex-army colonel described to me as an attempt to make the parade seem as long as possible. A fair amount of people gathered on the Shankill Road to watch the bands go past, although this march failed to gain nearly as many supporters as the Falls Road Easter Rising parade. One of the more interesting aspects was that many young children were present, either leading bands with red, white, and blue sticks or marching alongside the bands with their own little toy drum sets.

Marchers 

 As we approached the Twadell Avenue the presence of the P.S.N.I became much more overt. The police have a daily presence on the Twadell Avenue, where a group of diehard Unionists have set up a ‘base’ (Camp Twadell), which has had a permanent garrison for almost three years now. Flying dozens of Union Flags and with Unionist Banners hanging on the walls surrounding the camp they are an irritation to the Catholics in the nearby Ardoyne, an area well known for its continued support for dissident Republicans (the P.S.N.I believe that the recent prison officer bombing was planned in the Ardoyne). The police usually have at least ten Land Rovers stationed at Camp Twadell in order to prevent any violence that might arise at this North Belfast hot spot.

Banner at Camp Twadell

P.S.N.I on Twadell Avenue

Flags at Camp Twadell

Today there were even more flags than usual, and groups of protesters carried huge banners which commemorated three Scottish soldiers “murdered by your neighbours” in 1971, and stating that “Protestants have human rights too.” Behind these protesters was a makeshift podium, draped in Union Flags and behind that the classic line of armoured Land Rovers which have become a staple of Northern Irish protests.

Protesters at Camp Twadell

Protesters at Camp Twadell

Protesters at Camp Twadell

Protesters at Camp Twadell

 By now it was getting dark and because I didn’t know the area very well, I thought it best to leave. Getting lost in the working class estates of Belfast after nightfall is not something that appeals to me. 

Below I’ve attached a short video which shows some of the march:

Video of the March

Best Wishes,
 Luke van Reede van Oudtshoorn

The Easter Rising

On the 24^th of April 1916, Easter Monday, Dublin was thrown into disorder and chaos as around 1,200 armed Republicans seized strategic buildings around the city. From the steps of the General Post Office, Patrick Pearse, one of the leaders of the uprising, read a proclamation that declared Ireland an independent republic. The revolutionaries initially hoped that Irish Republicans all across the island would take up arms in conjunction with the unrest in Dublin, but confusion and poor organization meant that the Easter Rising was an affair that took place almost entirely within Dublin. The British government reacted quickly to this unrest, and after a week of brutal street fighting which saw hundreds of innocent people killed in the crossfire, British rule was restored to Dublin. The leaders of the rebels were marched through the streets as crowds booed and jeered. Tried for treason, the leaders were shot. However, while the British might have killed these revolutionaries, their deaths gave new life to the idea of Irish Republicanism, and by 1919 Ireland would have its independence. The events of this short week in 1916 continue to influence events even now, one hundred years on. In Northern Ireland the Easter holiday lasts from Good Friday until Easter Tuesday, over this long weekend there are celebrations throughout the Republic of Ireland and the Catholic areas of Northern Ireland. The celebrations for the hundredth anniversary of the rising were expected to be especially large. The P.S.N.I also warned of possible dissident Republican attacks during the lead up to this year’s commemorations, although none materialized.

Good Friday

Good Friday was relatively quiet, at least in Belfast, but in the town of Newry some hooded youths decided to try to relive the revolution by stoning some passing P.S.N.I vehicles.

Saturday

In 2013 a group of Orangemen were stopped by the police from marching home along their traditional route because they would have to pass by a Catholic neighbourhood. This seemingly small act caused huge outcry among the Loyalist community, and the Orangemen decided that they’d not just give up and let the parade’s commission tell them when and where they could march. Since then they have marched every night and every Saturday afternoon to protest what they view as the attempt by the parade’s commission to infringe on their freedom of assembly at the behest of “intolerant nationalists.” So they march, day after day, and day after day they are greeted by a wall of armoured cars and police officers who force them to follow the parade’s commissions’ instructions and prevent them from reaching the Catholic area. On Saturday I followed these Orangemen during their parade, starting at the Shankill Road Orange Lodge and ending at the usual police barricade. The march was surprisingly low key, the Orangemen marched silently through a Protestant neighbourhood that seemed largely uninterested in what they were doing.

Orangemen March on the Shankill

Orangemen March on the Shankill

As we approached the Parade’s Commissions’ ‘line in the sand’, the P.S.N.I Land Rover that had been acting as point man for the march peeled off down a side street to our right, blocking all movement down that way. The Orangemen kept pushing forward towards the Crumlin Road, their ultimate goal, all that seemed to lay in front of them now was a small hill. Our little company began their ascension, but as we neared the summit the white roofs of the P.S.N.I Land Rovers waiting for us at the top came into view. There were four or five armoured jeeps parked on either side of the street, with a wall of green coated officers standing between them. 

Orangemen Face the "Thin Green Line"

The Orangemen stopped right in front of that thin green line, once again the parade’s commission would have its way, but these marchers weren’t finished yet. One of them pulled out a camcorder and tripod, formed their own line in front of the police. 

Orange Line

One of the Orangemen brought out a microphone, “I’ll be celebrating the Easter Rising, the true Easter Rising, Jesus Christ is risen today alleluia … that is the true Easter Rising” he said. After the sermon a new speaker came out from the crowd, and had a markedly more political view of events. “We do not gather … to cause offence, we gather to highlight the intolerance and injustice that we face.” Claiming that the parade’s commission wants to criminalize them “simply for walking” he stated defiantly that the “protests will continue.” As the colours were trooped away, the Orangeman began to remove their hats, and sang the first verse of God Save the Queen. I’ve attached the entire speech below in case you’re interested in watching it yourself.

Protestant Speech

Elsewhere in Ulster, unrest that would flare up again and again over the course of the weekend began in the county Armagh town of Lurgan. During The Troubles, Lurgan was part of “murder triangle” an area infamous for its high number of sectarian attacks and killings. Today Lurgan is one of the few areas in Northern Ireland where dissident Republicans hold a significant amount of support, and that support shone bright this weekend. On Saturday a dissident Republican colour party marched through the Kilwilkie Estate dressed in paramilitary uniforms and hiding their faces with masks. While they were observed by a police helicopter, the P.S.N.I did not make any attempt to stop the parade, even though it was in violation of Northern Irish law which maintains that all marches must be approved by the Parades Commission before they can go ahead. 

Dissident Marchers in Lurgan (Photo Credits: Clodagh Kilcoyne)

This brazen show of strength by the dissidents, coupled with the P.S.N.I’s failure to respond outraged Unionists. News Letter reported that the Traditional Unionist Voice’s candidate for Upper Bann stated in response to the march: “If this had been a Loyal Order parade the P.S.N.I would have been present in numbers to ensure the letter of the law was observed. Yet republicans have been permitted to put on a show of strength with masked men with no arrests.” Lurgan’s woes didn’t end as day turned into night on Saturday, and in fact they’d only grow worse over the course of the Easter Celebrations.

Easter Sunday

The Easter Sunday parade on the Falls Road was probably the largest parade I’ve ever seen, and while it might not have attracted as many spectators as the Macy’s Thanksgivings day Parade, the turnout was still unbelievable. Ten of thousands stood under the tricolours and green, white, and orange bunting that weaved between the lampposts like a spider’s web. Alongside the tricolours flew the green flag of “D-Company,” West Belfast’s local I.R.A. unit during The Troubles. Before the official parade began, the veterans of “D-Company” marched down from Barrack Street to the local I.R.A Garden of Remembrance on the Lower Falls (There’s a photo of this garden on my earlier Falls Road post.) Dressed in paramilitary uniforms, their little troop was greeted enthusiastically by the audience during their short march. 

 "D-Company" Marches

"D-Company" at Attention

Once they reached the Garden, their spokesman addressed the assembled crowd by saying: "British rule was wrong in 1916 and it is still wrong in 2016. Let no-one tell you any different. We will settle for nothing less than a declaration of independence." “Amhrán na bhFiann,” the national anthem of the Republic of Ireland, and a decade of Rosary in Gaelic were then recited, to the cheers of the assembly. All throughout this, a P.S.N.I helicopter was keeping watch, and when someone in the crowd threw up a drone to get a better view of the parades, a group of men around me starting cheering that the drone was “their air force,” and that it was going to go shoot down the helicopter!

Speakers on I.R.A Memorial

I managed to get very lucky with where I stood in the crowd, somehow I managed to find myself in the same place that the Sinn Fein organizers had decided to put the families of the Republicans who had been killed during The Troubles. Each of them carried a little black and white photo of the son, daughter, wife, husband, or whomever else they lost, it was quite heartbreaking actually. Once “D-Company” had finished their rally, the official parade began. Led by a colour party of men and women dressed in the uniforms of the original Irish rebels of 1916, and carrying dummy rifles from the time, they marched up the Falls towards the Milltown Cemetery. As the colour party passed by the families of those who died they stopped, turned to face them, and saluted. The families then made their way into the parade, and formed a huge party of followers to the colour party. Once they had passed the flute bands came, at least twenty different Republican bands marched in behind the colours, although not all of them were Irish. I saw at least two from Scotland, two American pipe bands from New York, and I even saw someone carrying the flag of the Basque Nations! If you want to watch the parade, I've attached a link to what I filmed.

Easter Rising Parade

 Families of Republicans Who Were Killed

Huge Crowds on the Falls 

 Huge Crowds on the Falls

 Marchers in Period Clothes

Marchers in Period Clothing 

I decided to move with the parade up towards Milltown, and came face to face with the horror of Irish weather; it felt like the conditions went from freezing downpour to scorching sunlight every five minutes. Once the parade finished at Milltown, the crowd shuffled into the Cemetery towards a large stage that the organizers had assembled.

 Milltown Cemetary

Milltown Cemetary 

 Here Gerry Adams, the leader of Sinn Fein, gave a speech. It’s not the first time he has been at the Milltown Cemetery, he was there when in 1988 a Loyalist named Michael Stone attacked an I.R.A funeral with bombs and a handgun, killing three. Gerry Adams was heavily involved in the Republican movement in the 1970s and 80s, and many of the Protestants I talk to are adamant that he was one of the Provisional I.R.A’s top men during The Troubles. For being an accused I.R.A man his speech was surprisingly supportive of the Peace Process. “Huge progress has been made in recent years. The Peace Process and the Good Friday Agreement marked a historic shift in politics on this island. For the first time, the roots of conflict were addressed and a democratic route to Irish unity opened up. But there is much yet to be done” he stated, although he still towed the classic Republican line, accusing the government of the Republic of Ireland of betraying the revolution, and demanding the British “imperialist” government's withdrawal from the North. I’ve attached a link to the whole speech, filmed by Sinn Fein, below (I actually filmed it all myself but you can’t hear a thing because of the wind, so I had to find another recording.)

Gerry Adams' Speech

Back in Lurgan masked Republicans marched again, and the “Army Council” of the Irish Republican Army issued new threats against the security services, and warned that police officers may be targets. The council stated that “The volunteer soldiers of the I.R.A are ready and determined to take the war to the age-old enemy of our nation.” In addition, an ex I.R.A man, Bernard Fox, who survived the infamous 1981 hunger strike in the Maze Prison told the media that Republicans are entitled to use “any means necessary” to end partition. (Information Credit to the Irish News)

Easter Monday

Tensions in Lurgan reached a peak on Easter Monday, as a huge gathering of around 60 Loyalist bands from all over Ulster prepared to march through the city. I actually watched one of the bands pass by the Clifton Street interface area in North Belfast on their way to be bussed to Lurgan. The police response was unbelievable, with more armoured cars than marchers being present, and officers with rifles guarding each street corner. I've attached a link to what I filmed below.

Unionist Parades

 Protestants might ask why their parades are watched so diligently by the P.S.N.I, while Republican parades always seem to have a minimal police presence, although after the events in Lurgan that morning I can understand why they might have been on their guard.

 Heavy Police Presence at Orange March

Heavy Police Presence at Orange March

 At about 4:30 a.m. a van was hijacked and set alight on the railroad from Belfast to Dublin that passed through Lurgan’s Republican estates, forcing the closure of the trains for 24 hours. When police arrived at the scene three petrol bombs were thrown at them, fortunately no injuries were sustained. The rest of the morning was quiet, and the huge Loyalist gathering, under heavy police guard, passed without incident. However, several hours after the Loyalist parade passed unrest flared up again, with several masked youth’s threw stones and petrol bombs at police Land Rovers, injuring two P.S.N.I officers. Two fifteen year old boys were arrested in response. Youths in Londonderry also threw petrol bombs and stones at police Land Rovers, although there were no injuries or arrests as a result of this. (All information credit to the Irish News)

Passive Aggressive P.S.N.I sign at Londonderry Republican Parade (Photo Credits: Irish News)

Youths Throw Petrol Bombs at P.S.N.I in Londonderry (Photo Credits: Irish News)

Until Next Time!

-Luke van Reede van Oudtshoorn 

Security in Northern Ireland

Hey guys!

It has been a very eventful past week, and I’m very excited to share all the details with you soon. However, the Easter Rising post will take some time to be released, as it will be richly detailed, so today I’m going to give you a short history on Northern Ireland’s security services, and how they’ve changed since The Troubles. 

I’ve heard the locals describe the Police Service of Northern Ireland (P.S.N.I) in a variety of ways: “a colonial occupation force”, “a specialized service”, “defenders of the Orange regime”. All that is certain is that the P.S.N.I aren’t your average bobbies on the beat.

P.S.N.I Land Rovers in a Republican Neighbourhood

Now I can’t speak for everyone, but from what I’ve personally seen, the P.S.N.I seem to be an extremely professional group of people. I’ve attended parades by both Republicans and Unionists, and the P.S.N.I has been present at both. To me it seems as if they are a very neutral force. During the St. Patrick’s Day unrest they were very efficient and were quick to act, preventing the unrest from developing into anything worse. I’ve heard accusations that the P.S.N.I are slow to respond to actual crimes (P.S.N.I officers have been lead into Republican ambushes by fake emergency calls before, so I can understand their caution), and that they won’t go into Catholic areas for fear of starting riots, but based on what I’ve seen they do seem to be trying to do their best to act as a neutral force that helps both communities.

P.S.N.I at St. Patrick's Day Unrest

The origins of the modern P.S.N.I are in the Royal Ulster Constabulary (R.U.C), the predecessor of Northern Ireland’s modern police service and a group that worked side by side with the British Army during the bloody fighting in Northern Ireland during the 20^th Century. The Royal Ulster Constabulary began its life as a small, local police service, responsible only for Northern Ireland after Ireland was partitioned in 1921. Until 1970 the R.U.C never exceeded 3,500 members, however, as fighting intensified in the mid-1970s recruitment was ramped up, and by 2001 the R.U.C had around 8,500 officers. The R.U.C was always a mainly Protestant force, with only around 7-8% of members coming from the Catholic community. Because of this the R.U.C was always viewed with suspicion by the Catholics, and allegations of corruption were common. Even now many Catholics are convinced that the R.U.C worked with Protestant paramilitaries and even Robert, the Sinn Fein community worker I interviewed, told me that he was certain that the R.U.C colluded with the U.D.A and U.V.F.

Armed R.U.C Officer During The Troubles (Photo Credits to TheJournal.IE)

This is the legacy that the new P.S.N.I has inherited. Many people I’ve talked to have told me that there hasn’t been any substantial changes in the structure of the P.S.N.I when you compare it to the R.U.C. Robert even told me that the leadership of the P.S.N.I is made up of old members of the R.U.C's special branch, which he believes was responsible for state sponsored killings during The Troubles. While I can't speak for the truth of the accusation; it is true that the P.S.N.I was born out of the R.U.C in 2001, when the R.U.C was officially renamed the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and changed its emblem to something that better represented both Unionists and Republicans. A simple name change wasn’t enough, and the former R.U.C was reformed in two major acts passed by the British government, the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000, and the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2003. The acts made some remarkable changes to the way policing is done in Northern Ireland, so much so that because of these acts Sinn Fein has officially come out and supported the P.S.N.I as a legitimate police force which was something difficult to imagine during the days of the R.U.C. You can read the acts by clicking the links above.

Central Belfast P.S.N.I Station

One of the most important, and controversial, policies implemented during this reformation period was the “50-50” recruitment policy. 50-50, a system of affirmative action which meant that an equal number of Protestants and Catholics had to be hired, was supposed to show the world that the P.S.N.I was committed to impartiality and professionalism. However, 50-50 proved to be unpopular among Northern Ireland’s Protestants, who feel like they were being discriminated against by the P.S.N.I’s recruitment office. While it has been successful in bringing more Catholics into the police, its unpopularity proved to be its downfall and in 2011 the policy was discontinued. Catholics now make up about 30% of the P.S.N.I, but only around 17% of new recruits are Catholic, leaving many to wonder if Republican Paramilitaries are still intimidating Catholics into staying away from law enforcement. Catholic officers do seem to be targeted by dissident Republicans, who see them as traitors, and several have been killed in terrorist attacks in recent years.

P.S.N.I Officers at Orange Parade in North Belfast

While they might still ride around in their armoured land rovers, and work in walled police stations that remind onlookers of places like Fort Knox or Windsor Castle, the P.S.N.I has definitely changed since their heyday during The Troubles. Northern Ireland is still a dangerous place for a policeman, and the police are certainly stuck between a rock and a hard place. There are vocal critics of them in both communities, and they have to deal with not only crime and terrorism, but also significant budget cuts which are most certainly hampering their efforts to make the streets of Northern Ireland safer for everyone. However, it will take time for them to reconcile themselves with the Catholic community, and probably even longer before they can become “normalized” police service, as opposed to the heavily armed outfit that they have been since The Troubles erupted in 1969. 

Until next time

-Luke van Reede van Oudtshoorn

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day has become a celebration of all things Irish, and 17 March is greeted with jubilation around the world. There's been a huge amount of effort put into making all St. Patrick's Day celebrations non-sectarian, but still it is a day that is not really popular among Ulster's Protestants. However, this hasn't stopped the city from organizing a parade down Royal Avenue, Belfast's central street, every year. The parade went very well, everyone seemed to have fun, but it was the events after the parade that show that Belfast's sectarian divide still hasn't totally disappeared.

St. Patrick's Day Parade on Royal Avenue 

Right out in front of city hall a group of protesters-the Loyal People's Protest group-started to gather. While St. Patrick's Day might be a celebration of everything Irish, they wanted to remind all Ulstermen that Northern Ireland stands with the United Kingdom, and not the Republic of Ireland. Some P.S.N.I officers were on the scene, to make sure the protest didn't grow into something dangerous. Almost as soon as the Loyal People's Protest put up their first Union Flag, youths draped in Irish tricolours began to gather on the opposite side of the street.

 Unionist Demonstrators at City Hall

Republican Counter Demonstration

 Within minutes the small group of youths had transformed into a large crowd, and a fairly tense standoff began. More P.S.N.I officers arrived, forming a bright neon yellow line in front of the Republicans to make sure that the two groups didn't come into contact with each other. However several kids, probably no older than eleven or twelve, sneaked passed the police line and walked right in front of the Unionists-taunting them with Irish tricolours. The P.S.N.I quickly hurried that kids along.

As I mingled among the Republican congregation, I flagged down a young Republican who was willing to speak to me about the situation. In this recording you can hear the background noise of the protest, and I'm very happy to be able to provide a first hand statement by someone who was involved.

Protest Interview

I tried to speak to the Unionists after I finished this interview, but they were not interested in talking to me. 

 Police Line in Front of Republican Demonstrators 

 Tricolours in Front of City Hall

Tricolours in Front of City Hall

Tensions were beginning to mount, every once in a while one of the groups would start shouting and cursing-until a police officer would come over and reprimand them-while the other side watched on. Some teenagers in the Republican crowd started to set off green smoke bombs, and the whole Republican line became engulfed in a wispy green cloud. The P.S.N.I just watched on, it seems that over the years they have learned that unless a crowd is getting violent it's best not to intervene.

 Smoke Bombs at City Hall

Second Smoke Bomb Goes Off

 The tension seemed to be dissipating, when suddenly a red flare streaked across the sky, right over the top of a P.S.N.I armoured jeep, and landed right in the centre of the Unionist protest group. The startled Unionsists began cursing and jeering at their Republican adversaries. The situation was taking a turn for the worse, and the P.S.N.I moved in to restore order. Officers grabbed the two boys who threw the flare, and dragged them into the back of a police van. The Republican line collapsed and began to retreat away from the city hall. As the Republicans sang rebel songs, and chanted "I.R.A", police land rovers started to arrive in front of city hall, and police officers in armour formed a line and began to walk the Republicans down Royal Avenue.

Republican Retreat to the Intersection

The Republicans moved back in an orderly manner, and while occasionally a group of teens would form a circle and chant pro-I.R.A slogans; the entire group, which now must have numbered in the hundreds, had moved back at least 200 metres from the Unionists. The Republicans occupied an intersection just North of the city centre, and all roads leading to it were quickly blocked off by armoured land rovers and P.S.N.I officers.

 Republicans Now Occupy the Intersection

Hundreds Have Gathered in the Intersection

The police line held, and the boys in blue stopped anyone draped in a tricolour from moving through the line towards the Unionists, but let anyone who wasn't in anything overtly sectarian move through freely. The situation was still tense: kids no more than ten years old were using green spray cans to write I.R.A on their tricolours, and at one point a bottle flew threw the air and slammed onto the bonnet of the lead police land rover.

 Police Block the Way to City Hall

 Behind the Police Line

 Youths Taunt the Police with Tricolours

 Youth with IRA Tricolour

Police Stop Sectarian Symbols from Moving Through

Line of Armoured Cars in Front of City Hall

However, in time the mood changed from a sectarian protest to just another Irish St. Patrick's Day party, and even though a lot of the boys had I.R.A written in green ink on their cheeks they now seemed more interested in impressing the girls than in standing up to British rule. People stopped singing sectarian songs, and everybody seemed to want to pose for photos.

 Youths Pose for Photographs

 Youths Pose for Photographs

 Youths Pose for Photographs

The Party Starts to Die Down

This went on for quite some time, around two to three hours, until the police land rovers started slowly inching their way backwards. During that time police officers had managed to infiltrate the crowd and clear up the roads, so they could drive their jeeps through the intersection every now and then. As they started to leave the cleaning crews showed up, and began to try to clean up the whole intersection. It was at this moment that I decided it was time to leave. As I passed through the police line and back towards city hall, I noticed that a group of Republican protesters had been allowed to have a counter demonstration back where the original Republican crowd had gathered.

Protesters Remain in Front of City Hall

For all the effort put into trying to remove the sectarian implications of the St. Patrick's Day celebrations, it's clear that it'll take years for this celebration to become something that everyone in both the Republican and the Unionist communities can cherish.

I actually managed to take about five minutes of video footage of the events, so if you'd like to see it click the link below. I must warn you though, there is foul language.

St. Patrick's Day Video

This weekend is going to see some major celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, and I intend to keep you all up to date with the events of the celebrations.

Until next week!

-Luke van Reede van Oudtshoorn