Remember victims of anti-Catholic pogrom in 1920

I note recent coverage looking forward to celebrating the creation of Northern Ireland, inclusively or otherwise, in 1921.
Letter to the editorLetter to the editor
Letter to the editor

The content suggests that there is an attempt to airbrush certain unsavoury aspects of this centenary.

On August 22, RIC District Inspector Oswald Swanzy was assassinated by members of the Cork IRA [operating in Lisburn], convinced he had been involved in the assassination of Lord Mayor Tomás MacCurtain.

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Wrongly suspecting local involvement, rioting, arson and looting broke out in the town. Initially directed at local Sinn Féin supporters, it quickly developed into a three-day attack on Catholics, which resulted in the destruction of 278 properties and £215,000 worth of damage.

Most had fled into Belfast during the riots, but attacks there over the next week resulted in 30 deaths and further widespread burnings. While new parish priest Fr James O’Boyle managed to get many to return, the Catholic population of the town declined from 2,797 in 1911 to 2,194 in 1926. I see no effort in Northern Ireland to commemorate this event on its centenary this weekend. Why? While Ben Lowry suggests it “is a time to celebrate ‘a country that so many of us love” (‘NI centenary celebrations should be inclusive – up to a point’, Saturday, August 15) many will find it hard to love a country that seems so incapable of dealing honestly with its past, warts and all.

Perhaps dealing with each event without comment or agenda might be the proper place to begin.

Barry Keane, Cork

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