Shocking New Report

RBK · Shocking New Report

Shocking new report.

An estimated 250,000 Protestants have been forced out of various areas of Northern Ireland, the community-based report has been submitted to the Northern Ireland Office. The report, complied by the Ulster Scots group shows that one in four of the Protestant community has moved under direct or indirect threats or intimidation.

The experience, it says, may explain the concern among Protestants and unionists over the possession of illegal weaponry by SinnFein/IRA. So many lives have been blighted by these guns, the authors point out.

There are about 50 towns and villages in Northern Ireland where the Protestant population has significantly fallen in the 30 years from 1970. Included among these are Londonderry, Newry, Omagh, Cookstown, Armagh, Strabane, Magherafelt, Maghera, Dungannon,Stewartstown, Moneymore,Dungiven, Randaistown,Downpatrick, Newcastle,Castlewellan, Kilrea. Keady,Bellaghy, Pomeroy, Camlough, Coalisland, Draperstown, Carnlough, Bellaghy, Dunloy and Crumlin. TheProtestant population has also dropped in many parts of Belfast.

In only one Northern Ireland town - Carrickfergus, has the Roman Catholic population fallen in that period. The community report was presented to Northern Ireland minister George Howarth and it is understood that in May he referred the submission to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission for investigation.

Garvaghy Road

More than 1,600 Protestants have left the Garvaghy Road in Portadown over the past 30 years to live in other parts of Portadown and the wider Craigavon area. Elements within the nationalist population on the Garvaghy Road are still attempting to threaten Protestant families from their homes in the Corcram area and around Corerain Orange hall. There is an unrelenting and ongoing systematic attempt to push the Protestant residents in this area towards the east of the town and to enlarge the area controlled by extreme elements with in the nationalist community.

LONDONDERRY

In 1970, more than 13,000 Protestants lived on Londonderry's west bank There are now less than 1,000 left. Protestant families used to live in areas such as Glenbank, Shantallow, Rosemount, Strand Road, Buncrana Road, Culmore Road and Northland Road. They have long since fled these areas, following sectarian attacks, including murders, and particularly the IRA bomb attacks on Protestant businesses in the 1970s. The residual Protestant population left on the west bank of the River Foyle is crammed into the Fountain Street estate, where they are subject to regular on going sectarian attacks. School children from the Protestant community are subject to attack when using public transport to and from school.

MOY

The Co Tyrone village of Moy was spilt 50 50 Protestant Roman Catholic 1970. Today, the village is now almost 100 per cent Roman Catholic and only a residential population of elderly Protestant pensioners remain. They live mainly in public housing, without the financial means to move to an area where they would be more accepted.There is an increasing pressure on the residential Protestant population to leave the Moy, with regular attacks on property, especially at weekends. They are carded out at a low level (window breaking), and are rarely reported in the newspapers. The local Millar's Hill Orange hall was burned down and 16 male Protestants murdered in the Moy are buried in the Church of Ireland cemetery.

COALISLAND

870 Protestants lived in Coalisland. Today, there are only about 20 left in the Co Tyrone town, less than one per cent of the population. Their churches, businesses, halls and meeting places, used for social and cultural functions, have been attacked. The Corn Mill project, in the town,funded as a cross community project,has not employed anyone from the Protestant community. The last Protestant family in one private estate in Donaghmore left after Christmas last. Their 15-year-old daughter a pupil at Drumglass High School in Dungannon had been subject to daily sectarian abuse, both verbal and physical, over a three-year period, on the school, bus. She was the only Protestant on the bus and, for her sake, the family moved to Killyman, in Dungannon a largely Protestant area. Protestant businesses have been attacked In Donaghmore and the Orange hall in the village was burned down three times. Donaghmore used to have a population balance of 50-50 RomanCatholic/Protestant, but the Protestant population has now fallen to five percent.

NEWRY

The Protestant population in Newry town is now down to five percent, with many families moving to the neighbouring, mainly Protestant, towns of Banbridge, Tandragee, Portadown and Markethill. In 1938. Protestants formed more than 20 per cent of the Newry population. but from the onset of the Troubles and the IRA terrorist campaign, this number sharply declined.

DUNLOY

Dunloy is another village where the Protestant population has been dis-placed. ln the 1960s, the North Antrim village had 40 per cent Protestant population which has now completely gone.

Co FERMANAGH

The Protestant communities in Fermanagh have been subject to sectarian violence and harassment over the past 30 years. SinnFein/IRA prisioners have been released under the Belfast Agreement. The inability of the authorities to deal with this violence has lead to a dramatic movement of population from border areas. Protestants have moved out of Bessbrook, Maguiresbridge, Irvinestown, Lisnaskea,Newtownbutler and Enniskillen. They have gone to eastern parts of the Province, or into fortress towns, like Ballinamallard, Kesh or Lisbellaw.

FACT FILE: The proportion of Protestants in the Republic of Ireland fell from sixteen percent in 1922 to two percent today. The proportion of Catholics in Northern Ireland rose from 28 percent in 1922 to 44 percent today. Now which of those figures, in your opinion, offers stronger evidence of ‘religious discrimination’?”

GOVERNMENT measures have reinforced the actions of the paramilitaries engaged in the ethnic cleansing of
Protestant people, it states.`The situation has been made worse with policies in education, planning, culture and equality legislation. Government has hurt the minority communities left in these areas and made them less viable?

EDUCATION:

The Department of Education closed many schools in "rationalisation" programs. In Castlewellan, the Protestant community has slowly been pushed out of the town and some of the surrounding areas, largely through through attacks on property. As their numbers declined, government further undermined the community, by closing some of the rural primary schools and the secondary school.

FARMING:

Because of the sustained IRA campaign, many farms in threatened Protestant areas, particularly along the border in Co Fermanagh and Co Tyrone, have remained, for up to 25 years,unworked and unimproved. The rest of the farming community were able to take advantage of various grant-aided schemes, to improve their farms. Most of these schemes have now been withdrawn. To be able to compete commercially, these farms need a catch up program.

PLANNING:

In Londonderry city, the area plan has acted to undermine the viability of the Protestant community This community lives primarily in the Waterside area, located on the east bank of the River Foyle. The current Londonderry area plan largely ignores the needs of this area, while addressingthe needs of the nationalist west bank. Protestants cannot, for reasons of safety, bid for land,properties, or businesses,outside their local community area Yet one of the ways that threatened rural Protestant communities at risk can survive and remain as viable communities, is by selling and keeping land and property within the local community.

RELATIONS:

The Northern Ireland community relations program has ignored the existence of these communities and this problem, yet the intimidation of Protestant communities is a major factor which undermines good relations. A special initiative to address this problem needs to be put in place and made a high priority by government.

RETURNEES:

Retired members of the RUC, Prison Service and the armed forces and their families face a special problem in some areas of Northern Ireland For example, in Londonderry, many young men in the 1960s and 1970s joined these services, in many cares, because these were the only employment opportunities available to them.These men are now coming up to retirement age and many wish to return to their home locality, and join their remaining family members. They cannot do this, because of republican paramilitary threat.

CONCLUSION:

The community report says the Belfast Agreement tackled many issues on the nationalist agenda, but it largely ignored those issues of concern to the unionist community across Northern Ireland The vexed question offorced population movement, which is a core issue that impacts heavily on theProtestant/Unionist movement, was not addressed within the Belfast Agreement.

Rinty · y

Its so one-sided i wouldnt know where to start criticising this report. To say that the % of poulation that is catholic means there can have been no religious discrimination is nonsense.

The whole report does not once mention the % population of protestants in the areas they have moved to.

Pathetic, politically motivated, biased and denagerous nonsense, in my opinion.

wisnaeme

the loons will be complaining that they are being ethnically cleansed next.Wait a minute,did that sort o thing no happen before in yon place?Folk having their land,their culture and their language taken from them and driven from their place of birthright?Aye weel learn tae live with it and one another.I've nae sympathy for ye and yer spin.Jings,there's a programme jist started on the telly on BBC four,gonnae watch it because it's about some fella called Oliver Cromwell!

redlak

Using my objectivity I find reports which are done by focus groups tend to dress the questions and answers to suit the purpose of that particular group.

We only have to see Forest the pro smoking lobby which would have us believe it harms noone according to their studies.

The fact is many catholic families have had to move as well as protestant and this will only improve once they recognise each other's right to co-exist.

Ultimatly the only report one could have any faith in would have to show the demographics from both communities and be conducted by an outside body say the athiest society to preclude any accusations of favouritism.

azzuri

I live in Northern Ireland and have no particular agenda - this is the most biased 'report' I have ever seen. If Northern Ireland was as bad as this report makes out and people were being marginalised as is being made out here, I would be moving back to Scotland tomorrow.

RBK

Reply posts.....as expected.

parkhead_rfb

the catholic birth rate has been significantly higher for catholics for generations and this only really hasnt been translated in population terms to an even greater extent due to a higher rate of catholic migration, i wonder why they had to go elsewhere for education and employment eh.

looks like unionist supremacy is decreasing, there should be weeping in the streets at the prospect of equality.

Aventinian

RBK

O.K. I'll speak of the Belfast areas. Although it is common knowledge about all the other areas mentioned. The 'Fountain' area in Londonderry is the only Protestant area left on the West Bank of the Foyle. I don't even think Sinn Fein would dispute this.

But to some of the areas in Belfast. The lower Ormeau Road was Protestant,mostly middle-aged,middle of the road type of people,but at the start of the troubles they were forced out. Most of the area is now Roman Catholic/Nationalist/Republican,with some students in lodgings at the rear of the University.

The Grosvenor Road was Protestant on both sides at the lower end and predominantly Protestant on one side, as far up as the R.V.H.approaching the Falls Road. Just as an aside, Gusty Spence was living on the Grosvenor Road when he was arrested. So it was a Protestant area.

All what was written in that report can be easily checked out I would suppose.

But I would ask.....name me one area since the 'troubles' began, that were once Roman Catholic,but have now been taken over by Protestants?

Rinty · k

RBK

But there has been areas,where they have been forced out. I don't think there is any point in being in a 'state of denial'about this. You give one family..your own. I am talking about whole neighbourhoods forced to move. The last one was the Torrens area of the Crumlin,where the last few remaing Protestants had to get out a few months back.

I repeat...name me an area that Protestants have taken over.

azzuri

'name me an area that Protestants have taken over' - pathetic.

The language you use here is tribal and territorial - I think this report and your supportive nature of it points towards your own prejudices more than that of others.

The facts are that a large % of the people in Northern Ireland choose to live in 'communities' divided by religion. The population is now nearing a 50/50 split whereas around 80 years ago it was around 70% Protestant/ 30% Catholic. This is mainly because the birth rate amongst the Catholic community is/was a lot higher - and all of these 'extra' people need somewhere to live. As the Protestant population decreases and the Catholic population increases, it is only natural to assume that Catholics will live in 'communities' once populated by Protestants.

If there are LESS Protestants, how exactly are they going to 'take over' anywhere? Because of the tribal nature of the communities here, as the Catholics started moving in, the Protestants started moving elsewhere and were replaced with these 'extra' Catholics who were looking for housing. This is a purely numbers game - nothing more, nothing less

But don't let the facts get in the way of you talking rubbish eh?

RBK

parkhead_rfb

for once i totally agree with you rs Laughing

this is about the rising catholic population and his use of language and the terms really does say it all, i long for the day when matters in the six counties can be discussed without a sectarian headcount. This guy attempts to deny that there was even discrimination against catholics from the advent of partition so his understanding of basic facts really has to be questioned against the weight of such evidence that there was discrimination.

azzuri

really - you rest your case? and what a compelling one you make!

.......maybe you should be a lawyer. "Look m'lud - they're mocking my case because I have provided no factual evidence, therefore I win!" Laughing

Plllllease!

Rolling Eyes

Rinty · j

It's about more than rising catholic populations. The story of my family is the same as other protestant families. They moved from NI as traditional industries took a downturn and the skilled workforce (mainly protestant) had to move elsewhere to work. The less-skilled catholic workforce had less chances elsewhere and stayed to a greater extent.

Of course there were and are people who choose to move to an area they see as safer rather than live in a tribal enclave, but they have not caused the fifures that the report delibarately reads wrongly. My cousin from Newry lives in an area of Dundalk that is largely made up of NI catholic who moved there to escape the troubles.

This report is selective, sectarian, revisionist, one-sided, biased and motivated by religious division. The main reason for the report is seen in its attempt to re-write the Belfast Agreement. The people who wrote this report want a return to having "protestant" areas and having protestant power, only that.

Enclaves and segregation was and is a nightmare that fuels the conflict.

RBK

You have it yer own way then,sure you always do. I know you like the monopoly of suffering to be one way. Rolling Eyes

It doesnt fit in with the claims of the M.O.P.E. if they are seen to be the aggressor.

the bard of keppoch

can anyone on this forum give the figures of how many protestants have been ordered out by the protestant gangsters

Rinty · h

RBK

Many have been forced out Rinty. You speak of your family and the circumstances surrounding their moving. I can only say that I personally know people on the unionist side, who were forced out and had to flee their homes.

The method of moving some of these people out is not a high profile one,just a constant, insidious, low-key method, of making life unpleasant for them.

The British goverment has probably played a part in this too. They flattened unionist areas calling it re-developement. Promising to build them up again...but never did [although I see just this week that Sandy Row and The Village have got some good news,its long overdue]. Many of these areas were decimated and the people lost forever from the area.

Don't forget what the shinners told Paddy Joe McClean the unionists could do Sad

I read a report in the old Sunday News many years ago,that the goverment wanted the Belfast City Council to have more nationalists on it. It said they would try and get more representation of nationalists from North and South Belfast. One of the ways of working at this was to have the unionist majority cut down. I believe this has happened. You have only to look at the Council now.

In South Belfast the population of Sandy Row was 15,000 it is now 2,000 that is all votes lost. One side of Sandy Row was flattened and only one street was rebuilt with less houses.

In the old days of the sixties the name for this was... gerrymandering. The same thing is being done to-day, only it goes under the guise of re-developement.

Maybe the unionists should get out on the streets,link arms and sing ''we shall overcome' Wink

parkhead_rfb

this quote is from historian john darby

“There was a constant and irrefutable pattern of deliberate discrimination against catholics” (Kennedy-pipe, 1997, pp42).

does he suffer from mope?

Catholics in the six counties made up around one third of the population yet accounted for two thirds of the numbers unemployed, also in Harland & Wolff, one of the six counties biggest employers, less than 100 employees were catholic from a total of 10, 000 (Coogan, 2000). are these figures fact or imagined through mope?

In political terms from 1922 until power was returned to Westminster in 1972 the nationalist party in the six counties managed to pass only one piece of legislation and this was the wild birds act (Coogan, 2000) fact or fantasy imagined by mope?

RBK

parkhead_rfb

Protestants were discriminated against in the Free State. In Bandon many had to flee for their lives.

source?

Many did not want to work they had very large families and really wern't interested in working.

oh dear, oh dear, oh dear is that really the best that you can do?

The factory situated in the Bogside was an American company who employed 800 people. How many do you think were Protestants?

you brought it up, you tell me.

Roman Catholics/Republicans complained about lack of job opportunities in West Belfast. The ira then blew up the newly opened Daily Mirror plant in the West Belfast area and joined the cry about having no work in the area.

roman catholics and republicans are not one and the same, one day hopefully you will come to terms with the fact that the social world cant just be looked at in terms of religion, scary thought eh.

As far as getting things passed at Stormont. Those with the most seats get things passed. The same as Bertie Ahern in Dublin and Tony Blair in London.......its called democracy.

No matter what you say the M.P.s were elected to Stormont Parliament on a democratic vote.

a democratic mandate created by the british to ensure that only unionists could pass bills, hardly democracy. Still though in most democracies there is scope for private members bills, one passed in all those years?

Whens 'crying time' start again. The more I listen to you guys, the more I'm beginning to believe that Professor, when he said it was a gender thing. Wink

[/quote]

RBK

Quote...''created by the British' Certainly had, as we are part of the U.K.

It was the same system as operated in the rest of the U.K. The other 50 million people didn't find anything wrong with the system,unlike the half million in B.U. Never heard a bigger bunch a criers.

Quote ''source''.... why should I bother. Judging by past experencies you'll only rubbish it anyway.

Its ditto with the other points too.

It just amazes me how much you guys love to girn. Everbody keeps saying to forget about the past...time to move on. I think even sinn fein has started to talk in these terms. But youse guys...?