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Ulster - blood on the streets

Too little too late

The actions of the UVF in Belfast finally prodded the British Government into action. The Emergency Powers Act did not apply to the island of Ireland, but regulations were made to prohibit the transport of weapons through British Territorial waters. The four battalions moved into Ulster began aggressive searches for the imported UVF weapons, while the police began investigations into the circumstances in which the UVF had been sent in to break the Dock Strike. This was however a case of too little, too late. All that it achieved was an increase in paranoia amongst the Unionists, who became convinced that the mass arrests were imminent, while the desultory efforts of the police convinced many in the Nationalist camp that the UVF had been acting with tacit support from the RIC when they broke the strike.

Carson did not help. Although he had not been consulted about the strikebreaking activity, he gave his full support in a speech at a Unionist meeting in London in January 1913.

I recognise my responsibility; Heaven knows I am always thinking about it. From morn till night, I think of the grave tragedies that may still lie before us. It doesn’t make me shrink one iota as regards myself; no man in my position can help but think of others who have to fight out this battle. But I know this, I am dealing in all parts with brave men who have made up their minds and if we have to go into a fight – which God forbid – we will do so conscious in our minds that from the very first day on which this wicked conspiracy was put forward against us, we have given to the government every possible warning.

I am not going on forever being a restraining influence in Ireland. There is hardly a day passes when in Belfast that I do not hear it said ‘when are you going to give us the word Sir Edward?” In response I say that I and my colleagues will continue to do our best in the political arena. If it comes to the worst we will come to you, and will not hesitate to ask you to act. If we have to act it will not be our fault; but if we do may God bless us in our cause.

Unexpectedly however the actions of the UVF caused a major public split to appear, not in Unionist ranks, but in the Orange Orders from which they gained most active support. This was triggered by the decision of the Independent Loyal Orange Institution to condemn the actions of the UVF in Belfast. The ILOI had broken away in 1903 over what they believed was the abuse of the Orange Order for party political ends by unscrupulous politicians and had always seen itself as being primarily a working class organisation.

From its foundation it had met with great resistance from those who controlled the Orange Order and, as these men were often also employers, they could and did, put pressure on those who joined the new organisation, often threatening them with dismissal. These men were of course also those who bankrolled the UVF. Back in Belfast, members of the Independent Orange Order now came under attack from the main order, pushing them closer to the working classes from which they drew their membership and away from traditional Unionism. Connolly offered support to members of the Independent Order wherever possible, stressing the need for working class solidarity. Arson attacks took place against several Orange Lodge buildings in Belfast and Liverpool, but with one exception these were all occupied by the main Order.

Sectarian Violence

As the marching season approached, tensions were growing. So it was not unexpected when a riot broke out in Drumcree on 5thJune as the Orange Order parade took place. There was already a long history of disorder associated with this parade, the last serious riot being as recent as 1909. The parade outwards to Drumcree church on the edge of town took place without serious problems although it deviated from its expected route in order to take it past a Catholic Church. There the parade halted while the band played tunes associated with anti-Catholic sentiments and the crowd shouted abuse at local residents. Unsurprisingly by the time of the return to the town centre a large crowd had gathered who began to throw missiles at the marchers. In anticipation of trouble however the numbers had been boosted by a unit of the UVF from Portadown.

As the missiles continued to fly, the UVF men moved forward to flank the parade and came under attack themselves. Suddenly a shot was heard and one of the members of the flute band fell to the ground. Although apparently unarmed, the UVF men all had pistols, which they immediately drew and attempted to return fire although it was unclear where the shot had come from. At the sound of gunfire, the members of the RIC accompanying the parade also moved into position attempting to separate the two gangs. By now the main parade had taken cover wherever they could, including into the local Catholic Church! The UVF men were under fire from three points, while the RIC retreated under fire themselves from the hidden gunmen.

A call for assistance was sent to the nearest Police Station from the local post office. However by the time it arrived, in the form of a platoon of soldiers, two members of the UVF had died and five members of the parade had been injured. Three local people had also sustained minor injuries. The gunmen had vanished without being found. Over the next few days the same pattern continued of hidden gunmen shooting at Orange parades, although without further fatalities.

Blood on the streets

The worst confrontation took place on 12th July in Londonderry. Here the parade was confronted by an angry crowd even as they formed up and as they moved out were pelted with rotten fruit and vegetables. The real trouble started however as the Parade neared a mainly Catholic area. Here a barricade had been erected across the street behind which stood several armed men accompanied by a large crowd of other youths with large piles of stones and other missiles and armed also with wooden staves. As the barrier came into view, the parade came to a stumbling halt. From the rear there immediately came several dozen men, all carrying rifles. These took up position facing the barricade. The parade leader, the Grand Master of the Londonderry Area then called out to those behind the barricades to disperse and allow the lawful parade to move on or suffer the consequences. The response was a shower of missiles, one hitting the Grand Master and felling him. Almost immediately came a command to fire. The UVF opened fire on the barricade cutting down the armed men within seconds. After the volley there was a brief stunned silence and then the parade and the UVF men came under a shower of stones, lumps of metal and bags of faeces.

Again the order was given to fire and more stone throwers fell to the ground. The UVF men then fixed bayonets and advanced towards the barricade as the remainder of the men behind it ran for their lives. Meanwhile other armed men came forward to guards the parade as everyone in it simply turned 180 degrees and marched out, the band still playing, the UVF men walking backwards watching the crowd for signs of more trouble. Behind them was chaos and panic and blood running in the gutters. Seven men died, 15 more people were injured including two women and an 8 year old boy.

Although these events were a significant defeat for the Nationalist cause, it was a Pyrrhic victory for the Unionists. They had shown themselves to be well armed, well trained and disciplined. Unfortunately this had been in the context of a defence of religious intolerance and of violent strike breaking, neither of which went down well in the rest of the Britain. In the industrial north especially, where in the past they had had strong support this now began to fall away rapidly.