Sectarian incidents and attacks

Introduction:

The following list of sectarian and other hate-driven incidents and attacks is from 1 through 16 December 2001. The criteria we use for inclusion is based on the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) criteria; if a person/organisation feels that the motivation for an attack against them was sectarian (or racist or homophobic), then it should be counted as such. We rely on a number of sources for our information, but this is by no means comprehensive. If you find incidents that have been left off the list please contact us. A full dossier of sectarian and other hate attacks from January 1999 until November 2001 is also available.

December 1, Saturday.
The Annual Apprentice Boy's Lundy's Day parade in Derry passed off without major incident after agreement was again reached between the organisation and local traders and residents. Seven people were arrested for public order offences after bandsmen traded insults with nationalists after the parade had ended. A feeder parade in north Belfast also passed off peacefully after marchers were prevented from passing along Ardoyne Road. (IN, BBC, DN, CW)

December 2, Sunday.
Loyalists were blamed for a hit-and-run attack in the early hours of the morning in Spamount Street in north Belfast in which a Catholic man was injured. Witnesses said that a crowd of loyalist men stood cheering as the car, which was later found burnt out in the loyalist Tiger's Bay area, sped away after the incident. A local Sinn Fein councillor described the incident as "a clear attempt at murder." The victim, who it was later reported had been forced from his home after a loyalist pipe bomb attack in January 2001, said that he had no doubt that the hit and run incident was a loyalist murder bid. (IN, BBC, NBN, CW, RUC/PSNI)

Loyalists attacked a number of Catholic homes in the Whitewell area of north Belfast. (IN)

Component parts for pipe bombs were found in the front garden of a house in the Whitewell area of north Belfast. (BBC)

December 3, Monday.
A Catholic man in his 30s was shot dead by loyalists in north Belfast. Frankie Mulholland was sitting in a jeep on the Crumlin Road at around 8.15pm when gunmen opened fire through the open driver's window. He died at the scene, while a passenger in the jeep was uninjured but treated in hospital for shock. The Red Hand Defenders, a cover name for both the UDA/UFF and LVF, immediately claimed responsibility for the murder. Loyalist sources claimed that the shooting was drugs related. (IN, UTV, NBN, RUC/PSNI)

It was reported that British agent Brian Nelson had admitted knowledge of six sectarian murders other than that of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane. In a diary written while on remand in Crumlin Road prison in 1990 he allegedly admitted involvement to some degree in the murders of: father-of-three Michael Power; 66-year-old Francisco Notorantonio; Jack Kielty, father of TV comedian Paddy Kielty; father-of-two Terry McDaid; father-of-three Gerard Slane and father-of-four Loughlin Maginn. He also admitted knowledge of the murder of Jimmy Craig, a leading member of the UFF accused of passing information on to republicans. All murder charges against him were dropped the following year when Nelson pleaded guilty to lesser offences, and was jailed for ten years. His plea meant that no evidence of state involvement in the killings came out in court. The widow of Terry McDaid repeated calls for an independent inquiry into all of the murders in which Nelson and his British handlers were involved. Sinn Fein MLA Alex Maskey launched a court bid to force Nelson to give evidence about a loyalist murder bid on the politician in the mid 1980s, in which Nelson has admitted playing a part. The Ministry of Defence and the Chief Constable of the PSN/RUC are also included in the legal proceedings. (IN)

Relatives of those killed in the loyalist bombing of McGurks Bar in Belfast on 4 December 1971 called for a fresh inquiry into the bombing. They allege security force involvement in the attack, in which 15 people were killed and 16 injured. Over 1000 people attended a memorial service on the anniversary of the bombing. (IN, AN, NBN)

Two Catholic teenagers narrowly escaped injury in a loyalist pipe bomb attack in Hillman Street, in the Duncairn area of north Belfast. The bomb, which was thrown over a security wall, exploded at around 5.00pm. (IN, UTV, NBN RUC/PSNI)

A 41-year-old loyalist from Portadown, Mark Fulton, a close associate of former LVF leader Billy Wright, was arrested in connection with the murder of Lurgan solicitor Rosemary Nelson in March 1999. A second man, 60-year-old Walter Birch, who was arrested earlier by English detectives investigating the murder, was charged with weapons offences, while a third man was released without charge. (IN)

Stormont ministers launched a £200,000 project to tackle social problems in communities affected by sectarian problems in north Belfast. (IN)

DUP councillors in Lisburn failed in their attempt to prevent Irish language street signs being erected in the borough. (AN)

Loyalists from Ballysillan attacked cars on the mainly-Catholic Ligoniel Road. (CW)

December 4, Tuesday.
It was reported that the loyalist protest outside Holy Cross Primary school in north Belfast might now be permanently ended. The protests had been suspended towards the end of November. (IN)

Four more men were arrested in the Portadown area in connection with the murder of Lurgan solicitor Rosemary Nelson. Despite numerous and regular arrests in this case, no one has yet been charged with anything directly relating to Rosemary Nelson's murder. (IN, PFC)

A former deputy mayor of Derry, Sinn Fein's Lynn Fleming, asked for a meeting with housing authorities to discuss loyalist threats against Catholic workers engaged in refurbishment work on Housing Executive properties. (IN)

A Lisburn Sinn Fein councillor called on Twinbrook residents to be vigilant after known loyalists were spotted in the area. (AN)

Loyalists from White City attacked Catholic homes in the Longlands area and Serpentine Road in north Belfast for the second night running. (NBN)

December 5, Wednesday.
Leading Portadown loyalist, Mark Fulton was remanded in custody accused of conspiracy to murder. A charge of directing a terrorist organisation – assumed to be the LVF – was also being considered. (IN)

Brian Currin, the South African mediator working to find an end to the Drumcree dispute, resigned after Portadown Orangemen withdrew from the talks process. (IN)

Sinn Fein in Lurgan, Co Armagh, called for a security gate at the entrance to the loyalist Mourneview estate to be closed following a number of recent sectarian attacks in the area. Journalist Martin O'Hagan was killed just yards from the gate in September, while two Catholic taxi drivers were also targeted in gun attacks nearby. (IN)

December 6, Thursday.
Three people were arrested in connection with the sectarian murder of Catholic teenager Ciaran Cummings, who was shot dead by loyalists in Antrim in July. The murder was claimed by the Red Hand Defenders, a cover name used by the UDA/UFF and LVF (see below). (IN)

Catholic residents from the Longlands estate in north Belfast staged a picket at Arthur Bridge to highlight ongoing loyalist attacks on their homes. A spokesperson said many families had been forced to leave their homes as a result of the attacks, seven in the past week alone. A spokesperson for loyalists from the mainly Protestant White City Estate admitted that loyalist youths from the area had been involved in sectarian attacks, but claimed that nationalists had also attacked Protestant homes. (IN, NBN)

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams warned the British government that calls for inquiries into state collusion with loyalist paramilitaries would not go away. The warning came after recent further revelations about the role played by British agent and UDA quartermaster Brian Nelson in the murder of a number of Catholics (see above). (IN)

December 7, Friday.
On the day that Frankie Mulholland was buried, security sources said they believed that 'C' Company of the UFF, based in the lower Shankill area, were responsible for his murder on December 3 . (IN)

A 37-year-old Ballymena man was jailed for three and a half years for storing weapons for loyalist paramilitaries. William David McKinney admitted possession of ammunition and a mercury tilt switch, of the type normally used to make under-car bombs. (IN)

A young Catholic single mother-of-two from the nationalist Short Strand area of Belfast received a threatening letter and a bullet in the post. The letter, addressed to the woman by name, said "The next one is for you…scumbag. RHD, LVF, OV". (IN)

Petrol bombs were thrown during sectarian clashes in the White City area of north Belfast. (IN)

A number of cars were damaged during sectarian clashes in the centre of Glengormley, outside Belfast. (IN)

December 8, Saturday.
A support group set up to help families living in sectarian interface areas in north Belfast called on the community sector in the city to support their work. The group, Communities Under Sectarian Attack, was launched to draw attention to the problems facing people living in interface areas. (AN)

The Irish Football Association said it was unaware of a section on a hard-line loyalist website devoted to the Northern Ireland football team. The IFA have been under pressure to tackle sectarianism amongst their mainly loyalist supporters in recent years. (AN)

The North Belfast News reported an incident where a Catholic man from the New Lodge area of north Belfast believes he narrowly escaped death in an elaborate loyalist trap. The man said he was driving through the loyalist Tiger's Bay area when he was stopped by a man wearing Department of the Environment style clothing. As he was forced to stop, an armed and masked man appeared, but he drove off before any shots could be fired. "It was a life and death situation," he said. "When I saw the gun being pointed at my head I just threw the car into reverse and got out of there as quickly as possible. It was a terrifying experience." (NBN)

Jailed UFF boss Johnny Adair announced that he was to take legal action over plans to keep him in Maghaberry Prison over Christmas. Adair was released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, but jailed again when he became re-involved in sectarian violence and the loyalist feud that erupted towards the end of last year. (NBN, IN)

It was reported that the RUC/PSNI had refused to endorse a Catholic man's application to be moved from his interface home in north Belfast, despite admitting that the man had been the subject of numerous sectarian attacks. (NBN)

Minniejean Brown-Tricky, one of the original nine African-American schoolchildren forced to run a gauntlet of racist hate from white supremacists in Arkansas in 1957 as racial segregation of schools was forcibly ended, said that the scenes outside Holy Cross School reminded her of her own experiences. Now a full-time civil rights campaigner, she was speaking during a visit to north Belfast where she also met parents and children from Holy Cross Primary School school. (NBN)

December 9, Sunday.
An eight-year-old girl escaped injury when the car she was travelling in was attacked during sectarian rioting in north Belfast. Rioters threw petrol bombs from the Longlands estate, and a house in Serpentine Gardens was also targeted. One man was arrested for public order offences. (UTV, BBC)

Two Catholic teenagers escaped a loyalist gang who attempted to abduct them in Ligoniel, in north Belfast. The boys' mother said the attack was a reminder of the days of the Shankill Butchers. The RUC/PSNI later found hammers, baseball bats and cudgels in the attackers car, (NBN)

December 10, Monday.
It was reported that security sources now believed that the UVF were responsible for the murder of Catholic teenager Ciaran Cummings in July. The murder had been claimed by the Red Hand Defenders, a cover name normally used by the UDA/UFF and the LVF. this follows three arrests on December 6 (IN)

The PUP, the political wing of the UVF, warned that it might withdraw its support for the Good Friday Agreement, citing recent actions by republicans, and Sinn Fein's failure to do anything about them, as the cause. Their spokesperson, David Ervine, claimed that they did not have any control over the actions of loyalists involved in recent violence. The remarks came on the same day that the UVF was linked to the sectarian murder of Antrim teenager Ciaran Cummings (see above). (IN)

A spokesperson for Amnesty International, speaking at the organisation's annual lecture in Belfast, said that racism in Ireland must be stamped out. A recent survey showed that 80%of those questioned in the south did not believe that government there was doing enough to combat racism. (IN)

Loyalists attempted to abduct to Catholic youths from Ligoniel. The RUC/PSNI later found baseball bats, hammers and cudgels in the vicinity of the attempted abduction. (CW)

December 11, Tuesday.
Residents claimed that attacks on middle-class areas of north Belfast were turning the area into a ghetto. The residents also claimed that up to 10 homes in the nationalist Serpentine Road area had been attacked by loyalists over the previous weekend, while houses in the Longlands area had also been attacked by loyalists. A Housing Executive spokesperson confirmed that 107 families had been forced to flee their homes because of civil disturbances in the past four months, and 15 families from the nationalist Whitewell area had to leave their homes because of sectarian attacks. (IN)

Catholic residents of Newington Avenue in north Belfast welcomed the erection of 30ft high security fencing at the rear of their homes. The new fencing replaces the existing 14ft security wall. (IN)

December 12, Wednesday.
William Stobie, the Special Branch agent who supplied the weapons used in the murder of Pat Finucane and who had warned his handlers days in advance that the attack was to take place, was shot dead as he left his home in the early hours of the morning. The Red Hand Defenders claimed responsibility for the attack, which was carried out by the UFF. Stobie had also admitted his involvement in the murder of Protestant Adam Lambert, who was killed because he was mistaken for a Catholic, but his Special Branch handlers at the time allowed him to go free in return for passing on information to them. RUC rules stipulate that such intelligence gathering should have primacy over the actual solving of crimes, including murder (see The Walker Report). Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly said that while it may have been loyalists who killed Stobie, it was clear that those with most to gain from his death were Special Branch. Former UDP spokesperson John White said that he was not surprised by Stobie's murder since he was an informer, but White himself had previously visited Stobie and given him assurances from the UDA/UFF that he would not be attacked. Stobie is alleged to have prepared a dossier containing everything he knew about Special Branch collusion with loyalists, which he wanted made public in the event of his murder. However no evidence has emerged of such a dossier. His murder has led to increased calls for a full judicial inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane. (IN, BBC, AN, ST, PFC) see PFC website for more details.

A report released by the Police Ombudsman slammed the RUC investigation into the Real IRA bombing of Omagh in 1998, in which 29 people and two unborn children died. The report blames the RUC for not acting on warnings that an attack was to take place, and for then carrying out an ineffective inquiry into the attack. Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan and the RUC's Special Branch were singled out for particular blame. Flanagan promised that he would publicly commit suicide if the report was accurate. The following day he admitted that the RUC had made a "range" of errors in the Omagh investigation. (IN, UTV)

An SDLP councillor from Ballymena, Declan O'Loan, claimed that the council's permission for the burning of an effigy of Lundy on council-owned land flew in the face of good community relations' policy. (IN)

December 13, Thursday.
A Catholic family of five escaped injury in a loyalist pipe bomb attack on their home at Articlave, near Coleraine. A man was remanded in custody the following day, charged with causing an explosion and intimidation. Peter Cutmore, from the nearby village of Castlerock, was remanded until January. (BBC, IN)

The mother of Thomas McDonald, the Protestant teenager killed in an alleged sectarian hit-and-run attack in September, described vandals who destroyed flowers left at the spot where he died as "sectarian thugs." (NBN)

December 14, Friday
Sinn Fein called for the Royal Irish Regiment to be removed from patrolling duties on the outskirts of Derry City. A spokesperson cited their long history of involvement and collusion with loyalist paramilitaries as a reason. (DJ)

Councillors in Strabane condemned an incident in Castlederg after Unionist councillors claimed a number of young Protestants had been subjected to sectarian abuse at a cross-community fireworks event. (DJ)

December 15, Saturday.
A Belfast based community worker expressed concern after an RUC/PSNI officer demanded to see his car insurance documents, which contain full personal details. The officer claimed he needed to contact the man's insurance company to check the details, and left the room for almost 30 minutes. He also said that he needed to go to another office to make a copy of the documents, despite the fact that there was a photocopier in the room. When he returned he said he had spoken to the insurance company but the insurance company denied any contact was made. The community worker said: "In light of the numerous cases of nationalists' details being passed on to loyalists I would like to know where that RUC man went with my personal details for almost 30 minutes. I have made a complaint to the Ombudsman and would like this matter fully investigated." (AN)

It was reported that First Minister David Trimble, a member of the Orange Order, was putting pressure on his deputy, Mark Durkan of the SDLP, to broker a deal which would see an Orange march down the Garvaghy Road in Portadown in return for a complete end to the protests at Holy Cross School in north Belfast. SDLP sources were said to be furious at Trimble's attempt to equate the two situations, and claimed he was doing it in a bid to regain support of hard-liners in his own party. (NBN)

Some Catholic residents of Newington Street in north Belfast said they would still be moving house, despite the erection of new security fencing in the area. They said that while the fencing offers some protection from sectarian attacks, it was too little too late (see above, 11 December). (NBN)

It was reported that tensions were still very high in north Belfast after another week of sectarian disturbances. Nationalist residents of the Whitewell area blocked the road this week in protest at ongoing loyalist attacks on their homes. A disabled mother from the area said that her home had just been damaged by loyalists for the sixth time in four months. The Housing Executive revealed that 15 families from the area have applied to be re-housed following sectarian intimidation. (NBN)

Residents from Ligoniel in north Belfast launched a dossier of sectarian attacks in their area since October. They say there have been 16 separate attacks by loyalists on the Ligoniel Road alone, which has been branded the "road of terror" by locals. (NBN)

A Limestone Road community worker branded a claim by a Protestant church Minister that republicans had attacked Catholic schoolgirls to "make loyalists look the villain of the piece" as "outrageous" and "acting as a cheerleader for sectarianism". The Reverend Robert Beckett also branded Catholicism as an "unchristian religion…that is an offence to Jesus Christ" (NBN)

December 16, Sunday.
Belfast-based tabloid newspaper The Sunday Life reported claims that loyalist paramilitaries planned to kill more Catholic drug dealers to tighten their own grip on the drugs trade. This follows the shooting in north Belfast of Catholic man Francis Mulholland (see above) who was allegedly involved in the drugs trade. The paper also reported that UFF leader Johnny Adair had shot and wounded Mr Mulholland a number of years ago. (Sunday Life)

Sources:

Sectarian attacks section

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