Austin Currie talks about the impact of his occupation of a house in Caledon in protest at housing discrimination.
Austin Currie recalls squatting in Caledon and the impact it had in a 1979 studio discussion on RTÉ's 'Eye Witness' programme.
Currie talks about being thrown out of the Stormont parliamentary assembly and the resulting process of barricading himself in to the house in Caledon. The occupation only lasted for three or four hours, when he and two other protestors were thrown out. By this time, the media was there and he knew that an impact had been made.
Currie says that this was the first time that the national media in London reported the issue of housing discrimination in Northern Ireland. The prosecution case was later dismissed and the case against him was appealed and brought to the high court, where Currie was fined £5.
Title: |
Civil Rights Campaign |
Clip Duration: |
00:03:17 |
Material Type: |
Video |
Clip Title: |
Austin Currie in Caledon Protest |
Series Title: |
Eye Witness |
Information: |
An ‘Eye Witness’ special on the Civil Rights Campaign. This programme was presented by Tom Savage and was broadcast on 16 May 1979. 'Eye Witness' was a series of five programmes in 1979 dealing with events of importance to Ireland. The programme was compiled from old film, stills, newspaper cuttings and eye-witness accounts, as well as an in-studio discussion. |
Local Keywords: |
Caledon Protest, Caledon, Civil Rights Movement, Austin Currie, Housing |
Coverage: |
Ireland, Caledon, Tyrone |
Topic: |
Wars and Conflict |
Contributor(s): |
Tom Savage (Presenter) |
Publisher: |
RTÉ |
First Broadcast Channel: |
RTÉ |
Broadcast Date: |
16/05/1979 |
Production Year: |
1979 |
Country of Production: |
Ireland |
Original Identifier: |
DLX/00444 |
IPR Restrictions: |
Rights Reserved - Free Access |
Rights, Terms and Conditions: |
Copyright RTÉ. This material may not be replicated in any form or manner without the prior express permission of RTÉ. Any form of reproduction in print, television, video, multimedia, web site or other electronic media or any form of dissemination for commercial or non-commercial use must be licensed by the RTÉ Archives. If you wish to licence video or audio clips, still images or text, or would like further guidance please contact us. RTÉ Archives are committed to respecting the copyright of others and have attempted to source and credit the copyright owners of all material used here. RTÉ would like to hear from any copyright owners who are not properly identified here so that the necessary corrections can be made. If you feel your copyright has not been respected please contact us. |
Item Type: |
part/extract |
Colour: |
Colour |
Sound: |
Mono |
Aspect Ratio: |
4:3 |
Language: |
English (eng) |