NORTHERN IRELAND’S SECRETARY of State wanted Mary McAleese to try to connect with loyalist protesters while on her visit to Ardoyne, Belfast in November 2001, but the then-President chose instead to meet only with the Catholic victims.
The nudge came after months of riots and disruption around Holy Cross school, as loyalists had claimed republican paramilitaries were using the school run to enter the predominantly-Protestant Glenbryn area.
Newly released state papers reveal that John Reid, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, wanted the President to not only connect with parents and children at the school, but the locals who were causing the disruption.
In an account of a meeting with Reid, then-Minister for Foreign Affairs Brian Cowen wrote: “While it was entirely a matter for the President as to what she chose to do, Dr Reid suggested it might be wise if she was to signal a willingness to also meet the Glenbryn residents (even if they chose not to take up the offer).
“The Minister noted the point and clarified it was the Holy Cross Monastery – rather than the school itself – which the President would be visiting.”
McAleese did end up meeting with the local Catholic families during her visit in November 2001, but not the loyalist protesters, who she called on to end the rioting.
For weeks, children had travelled to school surrounded by a heavy police and British army presence. Hundreds of protestors had been blocking access to the school, shouting sectarian abuse at children and throwing stones, makeshift bombs and fireworks, among other things. Loyalists claimed to be retaliating against Catholic attacks on them and their homes.
The President’s visit was later described by Eoin O’Broin, who was a North Belfast Sinn Féin councillor at the time, as a “major morale boost” for the parents and children.
“High profile visits showed the Glenbryn residents that their protest was invalid,” he reportedly said.
The mainstream Loyalist organisations, PUP and the UDA, were anxious to settle and might be helped by the pressure high profile visits create.
The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) was a loyalist paramilitary group, while the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) was a more left-leaning political group.
State papers also reveal that, at the time, Davy Mahood of the loyalist Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) said that the new PSNI was trying to establish legitimacy by “cracking Protestant skulls”.
On 23 November 2001, the protest was “suspended” by loyalist locals off the back of meetings held between the First and Deputy Prime Ministers, the protesters and the Ardoyne community. Extra traffic and security measures were also put in place to facilitate the pause.
For the first time in 12 weeks, the area was “relatively trouble-free”, Irish embassies were told, and students could make their way to and from school without protests.
After her visit, McAleese had said she wasn’t convinced the riots were over and, sure enough, just as security began to be scaled back, trouble started up again. In January, a group of 20 loyalists reportedly entered the school yard and began damaging cars.
Fergal Mythen, an official from the Department of Foreign Affairs Security Section, wrote to the embassies in Belfast, London and Washington giving an account of the situation after speaking with locals.
“The trouble started when a mother on her way from the school became involved in an argument with a loyalist; The woman was struck in the face and a few other loyalists intervened.
“When a group of other nationalists came to her assistance, a siren was sounded and a large group of loyalists emerged from Glenbryn estate.”
A loyalist community activist said the riot was sparked by the removal of a wreath from a lamppost on Hesketh Road, near the school, where a taxi driver had been murdered.
Around 300 people total were involved in the riot. A police vehicle was “burnt out” after it was hit by a petrol bomb. Two police officers were injured in the chaos and three nationalists suffered “serious injuries” from “pellet shots in their legs”.
The resurgence in violence was a “wake up call”, according to Mythen.
Father Aidan Troy reportedly said the area was “only one small incident away from a serious outbreak of violence”.
“The rioting was worse than anything he’d seen over the past five months,” said Mythan.
Fr Troy was “fearful that the situation is rapidly deteriorating”.
The tensions in the Ardoyne community jeopardised the peace process and had a significant impact on local families, with many children moving schools during the crisis.
Some were later supported by the Survivors of Trauma group, which was set up to advocate for those affected by the Troubles.
The school was still a target even after the riots had ended. In 2003, loyalists planted a bomb at the school’s entrance, which was diffused before anyone was hurt.
Another bomb was planted in 2017, which was understood to have been targeting police walking the area. It was also diffused and no one was injured.
The documents can be found in the archives at 2023/54/66, 2022/48/610, 2022/48/758, and 2022/48/759
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