Making Sense of the Troubles: A History of the Northern Ireland Conflict

by David McKittrick

The northern violence also brought about hugely important changes within republicanism. Of the 1,800 families who fled their homes, the Catholic community had very much come off worst. 1,500 of those who moved were Catholic, which meant that more than 5 per cent of all Catholic households in Belfast were displaced. More than 80 per cent of the premises damaged were occupied by Catholics, and six of the eight people killed in mid-August were Catholics. Since one of the roles of the IRA was supposed to be the defence of such areas against incursions by the security forces or loyalists, much criticism was directed against the organisation for its evident ineffectiveness. The bitter phrase ‘IRA – I ran away’ is famously said to have appeared on a wall in the Falls Road area, reflecting the feelings of working-class nationalists in west and north Belfast that the IRA had failed them. The first great hero of republicanism was Wolfe Tone, who was associated with the 1798 rebellion and the aspiration of bringing together Catholics and Protestants in the common name of Irishman. Although that was the high mythic theory of republicanism, the practical reality was that the majority of Catholics did not support the IRA, and looked to them only in times of high tension. In such times, and August 1969 was one of them, the IRA was supposed to protect areas such as the Falls and Ardoyne against attack. The death toll, the pattern of destruction of property and the high number of Catholic ...