The Forgotten Troubles 1920-1922: The Altnaveigh Massacre…

The violence which engulfed Northern Ireland in 1922 was possibly the most intense the region has ever seen. The massacre at Altnaveigh has become synonymous with the sectarian violence which occurred particularly in the first half of 1922. It has also become a symbol of Republican aggression in the border regions, for Unionists living along that area particularly. Altnaveigh elicits comparisons with the abhorrent Kingsmill massacre when ten Protestant workmen were taken from their bus by Republican paramilitaries and murdered …

Read more…

The Forgotten Troubles 1920-1922: The McMahon Murders…..

When one thinks about the Troubles in Northern Ireland one invariably recalls the horrors of 1969-1998 and the violence, often savage that embroiled our society. However, this was not the first vicious conflict that Northern Ireland had seen. For my new series of articles, I thought I would look at a time period which has been mostly forgotten in Northern Ireland and largely written out of the War of Independence and Civil War period of 1919-1922. Northern Ireland was borne …

Read more…

The Belfast Shipyard Expulsions and Their Aftermath, 21st July 1920…

The general election held in 1918 had completely transformed the post-war politics of Ireland, with the Sinn Féin candidates winning a majority of FPTP seats by a landslide vote. These newly elected members boycotted Westminster and established an alternative assembly in Dublin on 21st January 1919. Despite the mounting campaign of political violence that had also developed during 1919 and in early 1920, by July Robert Lynd could still accurately write, “So far as the mass of people are concerned, …

Read more…