Catholic families leave their homes after the British Army move into the Lenadoon estate in Belfast.
On 9 July 1972 the ceasefire between the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the British Army ended in the Lenadoon area in Belfast. The ensuing gun battles forced Secretary of State for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw to saturate the Lenadoon estate with nearly 700 troops. The soldiers occupy homes and buildings in the estate.
Fearing for their safety, hundreds of people move out of the Lenadoon area. A group of women with their children are leaving by bus. They are going because they feel they are being terrorised by the British Army.
The women are adamant they will not be returning home until the British Army have gone. They do not see the situation calming down,
They’re still coming in.
One of the women is leaving Lenadoon without her husband as he is working. As they are paying rent for their home they are not prepared to give the British Army the chance to occupy it,
They’ve taken over enough houses as it is.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 18 July 1972. The reporter is Kevin Myers.
