BACK PAGES:A SELF-PERPETUATING cycle of provocation and retaliation has bedevilled the North for decades, if not centuries. This example is from 129 years ago and was part of the preliminaries to a riot in Dungannon in which one man was shot dead and several others were wounded when police opened fire after a nationalist procession had turned into violence with the help of some aggressive Orangemen, writes JOE JOYCE
All is quiet today in Dungannon. From morning till evening nothing has occurred to interrupt the ordinary quietude of the town, and were it not for the broken windows, shot and bullet marked walls, and parties of constabulary continually passing through the streets or on guard in the Market Square, nothing would remind one of the scene of riot and bloodshed yesterday enacted in this town. Business is resumed, and looking on the peaceful picture of provincial life, the change that within a few hours has come over the state of affairs seems as extraordinary as it undoubtedly is pleasing.
Before describing the riot of yesterday it may perhaps be of interest to relate an extraordinary occurrence which took place on Saturday last, at a little village in the townland of Listamlaght, which may perhaps throw some light on the events of yesterday.
It appears that a party of Orangemen were returning home about half-past 11 o’clock at night from a drumming expedition. They were guarded by an escort of eight police. On their way they passed through Listamlaght, which is principally inhabited by Catholics, and as they were going along a shot was fired at them. Then commenced a scene which, perhaps, could never have been witnessed in any other civilized country. To use the words of my informant, a gentleman of good position, they simply “sacked” the village. Most of the inhabitants were in bed and quite unprepared for an attack, and but small resistance was offered to the invading party. They smashed the windows, broke down the doors and, rushing into the cottages, dealt destruction round them, right and left, on all the crockery and other articles easily broken.
The police interfered but the wreckers brooked no interference. They turned on the constabulary, and beat them, driving them back towards Moy, and dangerously wounding two.
As soon as information reached Moy, the Resident Magistrate (Capt L’Estrange) and Sub-Inspector Locke, and subsequently Sub-Inspector Webb, in command of a party of police, arrived, with rifles and buckshot, and set out on cars to the scene of the outrage. The Orangemen were, however, gone when the constabulary arrived.
The appearance presented by the village was at once curious and pitiable. In the dark, moonless night the people were gathered on the roadway in groups, or were standing in front of their wrecked houses, while the women and children were wrought up by fear to a high pitch of excitement. Not content with laying about them, and smashing everything breakable they could find, the midnight rioters, to complete the work of destruction, set fire to one of the houses . . . but the wind not being high, the flames were fortunately extinguished . . .
By some it is supposed that the disturbance of yesterday was in retaliation for the attack on the village, but how far this may be accurate is difficult to say. Too much stress should, however, not be laid upon a feeling of just indignation, as the motive for it appears to be that about 10 days ago, in Dungannon, a nationalist procession smashed windows in Market Square, Church Street, Perry Street and Northland Row, and, indeed, house-wrecking does not appear, in this neighbourhood at least, to be a rare popular amusement.
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