The killing of two RUC officers in Londonderry was the backdrop to Bloody Sunday
A letter from Lyle Cubitt:
There is much to add to the comment of Gary Middleton MLA on the first murder of RUC men in Londonderry (‘Remembering 50 years since the murder of two RUC officers in Londonderry’, January 28, see link below).
Constable Montgomery was a nineteen year old Protestant and Sergeant Gilgunn was a gaelic speaking Roman Catholic from County Cavan.
There was no shooting by the police or any aggressive action by them.
In fact these murders were the backdrop to the events known as Bloody Sunday.
The attitude of the Roman Catholic hierarchy can be gauged by the non attendance at the funeral of significant figures in that community eg Dr Neil Farren, the Bishop of Derry, did not attend and John Hume was not present and remained silent.
The actions by the murderers of the PIRA replicated the strategy of the communist terrorists in Malaya in the 1950s and the unionist population was betrayed by some of their eminent politicians (Paisley met representative from PIRA in 1973 after McGuinness and Adams met MI5 officials in 1972) and by successive London based politicians with the honourable exception of the late Lord Roy Mason.
These facts should not be forgotten.
Lyle Cubitt, Ballymoney
——— ———
A message from the Editor:
Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.
With the coronavirus lockdowns having had a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.
Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.
Visit
now to sign up.
Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.
Ben Lowry, Editor