1997 Northern Ireland riots

1997 riots in Northern Ireland
Part of the Troubles

"Drumcree, The Garvaghy Road July 1997" by military artist David Rowlands, oil on canvas, 91cm x 61 cm, painting owned by the 1st Battalion (The Cheshires) The Mercian Regiment which depicts British soldiers during the rioting on Garvaghy Road[1]
Date6–11 July 1997
Location
Irish nationalist districts of Northern Ireland
Result Several Orange Order parades re-routed or cancelled[2][3][4][5]
Belligerents

Irish nationalist rioters

Supported by:

 United Kingdom

Commanders and leaders
Kevin McKenna (IRA)[6] Ronnie Flanagan (RUC)
Rupert Smith (BA)
Casualties and losses
1 civilian killed[7]
over 100 people injured,[3]
117 arrested[3]		 62 constables injured,[3]
at least 3 soldiers injured,
some armoured vehicles badly damaged or destroyed[8]
One loyalist UDA/UFF militant was killed by the explosion of a pipe bomb he was handling in an indirectly related incident[3][9][10]

From 6 to 11 July 1997 there were mass protests, fierce riots and gun battles in Irish nationalist districts of Northern Ireland. Irish nationalists/republicans, in some cases supported by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), attacked the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and British Army. The protests and violence were sparked by the decision to allow the Orange Order (a Protestant, unionist organization) to march through a Catholic/nationalist neighbourhood of Portadown. Irish nationalists were outraged by the decision and by the RUC's aggressive treatment of those protesting against the march. There had been a bitter dispute over the march for many years.

It was the last spell of widespread violence in Northern Ireland before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in April 1998. RUC and British Army patrols were attacked hundreds of times by rioters throwing stones and petrol bombs, and by IRA members with automatic rifles and grenades. They fired more than 2,500 plastic bullets at rioters and exchanged gunfire with the IRA. More than 100 civilians and 65 security force personnel were injured. There were many complaints of police brutality and a 13-year-old boy went into a coma after being struck on the head by a plastic bullet. Hundreds of vehicles were hijacked, set on fire and used to block roads in Belfast and other districts like Newry, Armagh and Dungannon. The RUC and the British troops had to withdraw entirely from some nationalist areas of Belfast. The Provisional IRA's involvement in the clashes was its last major action during its 27-year campaign. The paramilitary organization declared its last ceasefire on 19 July.

  1. ^ "David Rowlands Military Artist". www.davidrowlands.co.uk.
  2. ^ The Rosemary Nelson Inquiry Report. The Stationery Office. pp. 85–89. ISBN 0-10-297107-2
  3. ^ a b c d e Chronology of the Conflict: July 1997. Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). Ulster University. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  4. ^ Melaugh, Dr Martin. "CAIN: Peter Heathwood Collection of Television Programmes – Search Page". cain.ulst.ac.uk.
  5. ^ Shawn Pogatchnik, "Soldiers, Police shot in Belfast", Associated Press, 12 July 1997.
  6. ^ Moloney, Ed. A Secret History of the IRA. Penguin, 2003. p. 557. ISBN 0-14-101041-X
  7. ^ RFJ: Inquest finds US citizen John Hemsworth died as result of RUC assault Archived 25 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "North Belfast erupts". An Phoblacht. 10 July 1997
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference 10uda was invoked but never defined (see the help page).