Internment, 9 August, 1971

On 9th August, 1971, the Unionist government used the Section 12 of the Special Powers Act to arrest and intern hundreds of men. The arrest policy concentrated almost uniquely on Catholics, targeting those believed to be republicans although it included some other individuals such as anarchist John McGuffin (you can read his book on Internment

“a position paralleled only by continental dictatorships”: the abuses that prompted the Civil Rights campaign

Much of the recent commentary has focused on debating the origins and ‘ownership’ of the civil rights campaign. What has been missing from the discussion has been a timely reminder of the actual abuses that prompted the campaign. At heart, the civil rights campaign was addressing a fundamental democratic deficit created by Unionists limiting the

Awful Bomb Outrage on Belfast Children

The bombing of Weaver Street on 13th February 1922 marked a particular low in the violence in Belfast in 1920-22. What hasn’t immediately been recognised is the extent to which it resonates deeply with more recent cases. The Special Constabulary and police are both implicated in colluding with the bombers, forensic evidence was misrepresented and

The banning of An Phoblacht, January 1926.

On 7th January 1926 the northern government made possession of An Phoblacht an offence under Regulation 26 of the Civil Authorities (Special Powers) Act. The dual purpose of censorship and criminalisation was to provide the northern government with a recurring method of repressing political opposition, starting as soon as An Phoblacht was banned. The publication of An Phoblacht had started again from June