Irishmen Mow Down Police

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31080, 8 June 1966, Page 17

Irishmen Mow Down Police

(N.Z.P.A. Reuter—Copyright)

BELFAST, June 7.

Police who tried to break up a religious riot between Roman Catholic and Protestant Irishmen in Belfast last night were mown down by a hail of bricks, bottles, stones and nuts and bolts.

Four policemen and a number of civilians—one of them a 12-year-old girl—were taken to hospital after angry Roman Catholics stoned a procession of 1500 Protestants-

Cars, buses and tavern windows were smashed in a run-

ning street fight which broke out as a militant Protestant clergyman led his supporters in a protest rally against alleged Roman Catholic tendencies in the Irish Presbyterian Church.

Roman Catholics blocked the path of the marchers through the centre of Belfast —capital of officially Protestant Northern Ireland. They hurled missiles and brought the procession to a standstill. Drew Batons Police reinforcements drew their batons and charged the crowd to break up the battle. They had to protect an official representative of President Eamon De Valera, of the predominantly Roman Catholic Irish Republic, from hostile Protestants as he left the opening meeting of the Presbyterian Church’s General Assembly.

Later eight people were reported under arrest. The lead ers of the Protestant marchets was the Rev. lan Paisley, one of two Protestant clergy men refused entry to Italy recently when he went to protest at the Papal visit by the Archbishop of Canterbury.