Aidan Corrigan of the Dungannon Civil Rights Committee justifies a call for British troops to be responsible for law and order in the area.
8,000 people in Dungannon have signed a petition asking for the army to take over law and order in Dungannon, Co. Tyrone. The people do not trust the RUC, the 'B' Specials or the Paisleyites. Corrigan goes on to describe how the people of Dungannon are currently living an "abnormal life" where they cannot visit relations or go to the cinema or to dances. He also talks about violent and aggressive actions of the RUC against the Catholics in Dungannon.
Henry Kelly talks about the refugee centre at the De La Salle School in Belfast. There are about 150 people sleeping in the school each night and a further 300 coming to the centre for meals. While many believe it is now safe to return to their homes, Kelly estimates that at least 15 to 20 people have no homes to return to.
Ronald Bunting sees no reason for the disbandment of the 'B' Specials. Bunting talks about potential violence that will break out as a result of the disbandment.
Reporter Martin Wallace sums up the political position in Northern Ireland after days of violence. While troops are still on the streets and shop fronts are still boarded up, there is a clear feeling in the city that the worst of the violence is over.
For the moment, the Unionist Party has avoided a new leadership crisis. The main point of uncertainty is the future of the 'B' Specials and Prime Minister Chichester-Clarke has managed to convince back-benchers that the force is not to be disbanded, with their duties being switched from riot control to the guarding of key installations. It is anticipated that the British government will demand a review of the 'B' Specials.
| Title: | Taking Stock of Positions |
| Clip Duration: | 00:06:01 |
| Material Type: | Video |
| Clip Title: | "If We Are Forced to Fight, We Shall Fight" |
| Series Title: | RTÉ News |
| Information: | A RTÉ News report by Barry Linnane and Martin Wallace on the current state of play in Northern Ireland broadcast on 21 August 1969. |
| Local Keywords: | Northern Ireland 1969, August 1969, Aidan Corrigan, Dungannon Civil Rights Committe, British Troops, Dungannon, Tryone, RUC, B-Specials, Paisleyites, Henry Kelly, De La Salle School, Ronald Bunting, Martin Wallace, Chichester-Clark, Barry Linnane |
| Coverage: | Ireland, Tryone |
| Genre: | News |
| Topic: | Wars and Conflict |
| Provider: | RTÉ |
| Contributor(s): | Barry Linnane (Reporter) |
| Publisher: | RTÉ |
| First Broadcast Channel: | RTÉ |
| Production Year: | 1969 |
| Country of Production: | Ireland,Tyrone |
| Original Identifier: | N3690/0069A |
| 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 Libraries and Archives. If you wish to licence video or audio clips, still images or text, or would like further guidance please contact us. RTÉ Libraries and 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: | Black and White |
| Sound: | Mono |
| Aspect Ratio: | 4:3 |
| Language: | English (eng) |
