A History of Ulster
by Jonathan Bardon
Blackstaff Press 1992
Then Paisley learned that a small Irish tricolour was on display in the
window of the Republican headquarters in Divis Street and on 27 September
he threatened to take his supporters there to remove it if the authorities
did not act. Next day the RUC, using their discretionary powers under the
Flags and Emblems Act, removed the flag but clashed that night with local
people. Another flag appeared in the Republican headquarters' window on
1 October and this time the police smashed into the premises with pickaxes
and removed it. The ensuing rioting was intense: police were driven back
by a barrage of stones, scrap metal and bottles; some petrol bombs were
thrown; a corporation bus burned furiously; armoured cars looked menacing
in the narrow streets and, with their headlights and searchlights, picked
out the dense mass of struggling rioters and police; water cannon - in use
for the first time in more than forty years - sprayed the crowds somewhat
ineffectively; and throughout there was a cacophony of wailing sirens, yells,
shouted party songs, and the crash of breaking glass. It was remarkable
that no lives were lost, for such sectarian rioting had not been seen in
Belfast since 1935 and no doubt it was a bemused audience in Britain that
watched on television an updated re-enactment of intercommunal conflict
that had blighted Ulster for generations. |
