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Saoirse Online Newsroom
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Date Posted: 09:49:06 01/03/02 Thu
In reply to:
Saoirse Online Newsroom
's message, "Nationalist stabbed in north Belfast" on 11:26:25 01/02/02 Wed
Christmas in North Belfast
As many went about their business in the run-up to Christmas, doing the Christmas shopping or going to the Christmas party, finding their own season of goodwill and joy, very little of either was to be found in North Belfast.
For the people of the Limestone Road and Newington area, this season of goodwill found them under constant attack from the forces of loyalist bigotry and hate.
In this part of north Belfast the Christmas period saw the nationalist community come under brick, stone and bottle attack. Many nationalist homes were damaged.
But far worse than this; loyalist gunmen have been active.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2001. Around 7pm locals living in the Westrock area of Whiterock Road claimed that a number of men and women, some armed, tried to hi-jack a car.
Locals claimed it was a Republican action as those involved claimed to be members of the Republican Movement.
After the group withdrew from the area a bomb was found and the RUC called for the bomb squad.
Locals claimed that the Brits statement that the bomb was a hoax was rubbish.
One local woman stated: “I’ve been around far too long and witnessed a lot of things and know by the way the Brits were getting on that this was no hoax. I believe it was a ambush and the target was no doubt the Peelers [RUC]. I think it didn’t happen because there was too many people about. The whole thing had the hallmarks of a Republican set-up. There’s no doubt about that,” she added.
Loyalist crowds attacked the homes of nationalists living in the Serpentine Road at around 9.45pm. Stones and bottles were used to attack nationalist houses. Fighting once more took place in the Limestone Road, Newington areas of north Belfast.
The fighting that started around 9.45pm went on into the small hours of Saturday morning.
Once again, as so many times before, nationalist homes in the area were attacked by loyalists using everything from stones, bottles and bricks to doctored fireworks that are more like small bombs than fireworks.
Fighting took place as nationalists came out to defend their families and homes.
Brits/RUC in the area, as always, turned a blind eye to loyalist rioters as they faced down nationalist who had come onto the streets to defend themselves.
Around 2.30am loyalists moved to the North Queen Street area where they once again set about attacking nationalist homes and again as the nationalist community stand in defence of their families, homes and area, fighting took place. The loyalists were forced back to the Tigers Bay area.
Brit/RUC occupation forces flooded the area and the fighting subsided after some time. Tension was very high.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2001. Minor trouble once again broke out at the Whitewell as loyalist rioters and nationalist street fighters faced each other.
As Brit/RUC occupation forces flooded the area a stand-off took place. Tension stayed high.
Once again the people of the Limestone Road and Newington came under attack from loyalists. Minor stone throwing took place early in the day. For those nationalists living in this part of north Belfast they knew only too well that this was only the start of what was to come as night drew in.
Around 10.30pm loyalists stepped up their attacks on the nationalist people of Limestone Road and Newington area. Many homes were damaged as a constant rain of bricks, stones and bottles was aimed at the backs of houses sitting on the so-called peace line.
Once again, as so often before, loyalist gunmen fired a number of shots from the darkness.
The trouble went on into the small hours of Sunday when the loyalists withdrew, happy for now about the job they had done; leaving nationalists to once again keep their lonely vigil in their darkened bedrooms, ever watchful.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2001. The last Sunday before Christmas day is a time for many to go to their place of worship, as everyone has a right to do without fear, not just at Christmas but at any time.
Here in north Belfast the right to worship ones God, when you come from a Catholic community; that right to worship means you do so faced with foul mouth loyalist bigots as they shout about Our Lady and the Pope.
Nothing is sacred to the bigots of the loyalist Tigers Bay, “God nor man”. The hate towards their fellow man runs far too deep.
Sunday, the day Orangism claims to hold high, gives no peace from loyalist attacks on the nationalist people.
As Sunday grew into night the loyalist gangs were on the streets of north Belfast. Their targets are once again those nationalist families living on the so-called peace lines, the easy target. No great task for these brave men of loyalism. Again loyalist gunmen (UDA/UFF) under the cover of the loyalist mob and darkness open fire.
One woman whose home has come under attack from loyalists using stones, bricks, fireworks and petrol bombs, told SAOIRSE that it’s only been luck that there hasn’t been a death toll in this area.
She added: “Many people have been hurt in these attacks on our area [Limestone Road, Newington]. What people are suffering here at the hands of these loyalists doesn’t make news. And then there’s the stress of it all.
“Our children are really scared. It’s hard to settle them down. And they don’t sleep very well. Our old people likewise are living in fear. To be truthful, we all are.
“It’s depressing to think that tomorrow is Christmas Eve. We really should be getting ready for Christmas day and being with family and friends. I guess that’s in a normal situation. This is far from normal. We are all far too fearful for that.”
The Sunday night went on as the nights have been for so long now: Loyalists keeping up the constant attacks on nationalist homes. Only subsiding in the small hours of the morning.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2001. Christmas Eve. 7.30am. Fighting broke out on North Queen Street as up to 50 loyalists attacked the homes of nationalists. Nationalists who came out of their homes managed to push the mob back up North Queen Street.
The trouble subsided as Brit/RUC occupation forces flooded into the area.
There was minor stone throwing as the day went on.
Again, as darkness fell stone throwing by loyalists was stepped up, but it subsided again after a time.
Brit/RUC occupation forces were heavy on the ground.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2001. Christmas Day 2001 for the people of the nationalist Limestone Road found no joy in the world.
As the world found the Christmas cheer and many even peace on earth for this day at least, on the streets of north Belfast loyalist bombers and gunmen were once again active.
Just before 10pm loyalist bombers threw two blast bombs at a group of nationalist youths standing at Newington Street.
At around 10pm loyalist gunmen came out from the loyalist Tigers Bay, opened fire and ran back into Tigers Bay again.
The fears that the nationalist people had of loyalist attacks over this, the most holy of periods in the year, were well founded. The fact that once again the nationalist people were once again very lucky wasn’t lost on the people of the area. The thought of how long they would be lucky was also very much in the minds of local people.
Again, these attacks on the nationalist people for the most went on unreported.
Once again, even on Christmas night, for the people of the Limestone Road, Newington area, the nationalist people found little sleep, sitting in vigil to watch for yet more loyalist attacks. Through this vigilance, sitting in darkened bedroom, they believe they may very well save lives.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2001. Boxing Day. With the daylight came no ease in the tension that could even be found in the air in these streets of north Belfast. But never have the nationalist people of this area let loyalism, orangism or Brit terror get them down.
As they have always done they go on about their business.
No doubt to the dismay of loyalist terrorism.
Today, once again, groups of loyalists set about attacking nationalist homes. As darkness fell these attacks were to get worse.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2001. Loyalist gunmen were once again active in north Belfast. The home of Donna McDaid was shot up with a number of bullets going through a front window into a room where the children toys lay and where the children had been playing.
Mrs McDaid said that loyalists had made a number of threats against her and her family and during rioting the night before loyalists shouted that she was going to be killed.
Just before the shooting at Donna McDaids homes it is believed that loyalists had tried to kill a man next door to McDaids, knocking on a side gate and calling out Donna McDaids name. The man in the house wouldn’t go to the door but shouted out that Donna was asleep. Only ten minutes later the shooting took place. Another in a long list of attacks on the nationalist people of north Belfast at Limestone Road, Newington area, areas where streets like Parkend Street are easy target for loyalists.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2001. Friday was once again witness to minor trouble, mostly stone-throwing by loyalists. This went on at Limestone Road, Newington and at Alliance Ave where loyalists attacked the back of nationalist homes from the loyalist Alliance Road.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2001. Heavy snow fell on Belfast and children took to the streets as children do to play in the snow.
On the nationalist end of the Ardoyne crowds of youths and children took part in snowball fights but the fun soon turned into a battle with loyalists who came down the Ardoyne Road from Glenbryn and used bricks, bottles and bolts to attack the nationalist children.
As people went to the area fighting between nationalist street fighters and the loyalist rioters took place with nationalists pushing the loyalists back up towards Glenbryn only to be stopped by members of the Provisionals political wing, not for the first time policing the nationalist street fighters and once again taking away their right to defend themselves; The Provisional police doing the RUC’s job for them and doing it well.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2001. There was only minor trouble in a number of areas of north Belfast, not as heavy as had been seen in recent days.
Many nationalists believe only the very cold weather may have played a part in keeping loyalist mobs off the streets.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2001. New Years Eve passed off without any reports of trouble.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2002. New Years Morning. In the early hours as the rest of the world brought in the first day of 2002 with parties, on the Whitewell Road nationalist homes were under attack from loyalists.
In all, three nationalist homes were attacked and damaged. As nationalists took to the streets fighting took place for a time, subsiding after occupation forces flooded the area. It is believed one person, a loyalist, was lifted by the RUC.
It should be pointed out that this arrest by the RUC comes after a years of attacks on nationalists in the Whitewell area. It should also be pointed out that it was more down to the loyalists attacking the RUC rather than attacking nationalists.
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