IRISH HORRORS.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 June 1922, Page 5

IRISH HORRORS.

'ATTACK ON HOSPITAL. PATIENTS TERRORISED. BULLETS SWEEP WARDS. CRIME IN BELFAST. «.■> By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright. Received June 7, 5.5 p.m. London, June 6. There was a heavy outburst of firing in Belfast during the morning. Bullets smashed the windows of a maternity hospital, and the patient? were compelled to lie on the floor. Many became hysterical, but none were injured. The medical staff protest against the atrocious attack on the maternity hospital. They say the inmates were terrorised. For forty-five minutes bullets swept the wards, and the occupants flattened themselves against the walls while helpless invalids flung themselves from their beds, nuns and nurses vainly attempting to allay their terrors. Other wards contained men and boys, many of whom were wounded in the recent rioting. One boy, whose feet were tied to a weight, hung out of bed, being unable to free himself. Another boy, aged eleven, with an amputated leg, lay helpless with terror. All the lights were extinguished in the hospital in the hope that the shooting would cease. The hospital adjoins the gaol, and the attack may thus have been due to an error. If so it was fiendish folly. A large warehouse was set on fire by an incendiary bomb and was extensively damaged. OUTBREAK OF FIGHTING. TROOPS AFFAIR WITH REBELS. STOUT RESISTANCE EXPECTED. Received June 7, 5.5 p.m. London, June 6. Following the Pettigo affair, the irregulars strongly entrenched themselves in a stronghold in the Balleek salient, where the task of the British troops was more formidable, as the position was more extensive and easier to defend. The base extends eight miles from the northern shore of Lough Erne, and embraces the ancient fort' situated at .Donegal. It is garrisoned by irregulars, flying the green flag, who command the town of Balleek. Stout resistance is expected, as the defenders are feverishly constructing sand bag defences. Enniskillen reports that many thousands of Sinn Feiners with armored cars are massing on the border to reinforce the garrison at Balleek. The military now hold the Free State territory to the depth of a mile north of Pettigo. It is ascertained that upwards of 40 Republicans were killed by shell fire during Sunday’s battle. Mr. Collins takes a most serious view of the aggression of the British troops, and is demanding a full inquiry, and is not going to London unless specially asked. MURDER OF A CONSTABLE. TWO MEN REMANDED. Received June 7, 5.5 p.m. London, June 6. Peter Ward and John McMullan were remanded at Belfast on a charge of murdering Constable Roulston on Thursday. A military witness identified the two prisoners as two of the men who ran away after the shooting. His patrol fired a shot and hit one man of the party, who was dragged into a house.