Two traditions in divided city
Published Date:
06 October 2008
THE Civil Rights movement in Northern Ireland has always been portrayed as an Irish nationalist/republican struggle against unionist structures and institutions and scant regard is given to the situation of Protestants living in places like Londonderry when the street agitation began 40 years ago.
East Londonderry DUP MP Gregory Campbell, who was growing up in the Maiden City at the time, provides a graphic account in today's News Letter of what life was like for the minority Protestant community there with a catalogue of intimidation and attacks by militant republicans.
Mr Campbell recalls that as a working class unionist, just as much disenfranchised in employment prospects as his nationalist city-dwellers, nothing about the Civil Rights' movement attracted him; rather as the protests grew so did his resentment and anger.
And with it a mass exodus of Protestants and unionists from the mainly nationalist West Bank of the River Foyle.
As Mr Campbell points out, there were undoubtedly other factors in the exodus, but shooting, bombing and intimidation were the primary reasons.
The full article contains 178 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
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Last Updated:
06 October 2008 10:38 AM
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Source:
n/a
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Location:
Belfast
