1969 - 4 (June - July)

                                                                                                                                    "Derry Citizen's Defence Committee"    

 1969 June: The Irish Labour Party in the Irish Republic "General Elections" declared that they stood for a Worker's Republic and Socialism and they were subsequently badly "defeated" in the polls. 

      Charles Haughey who was a Minister in the Irish Fianna Fail Government in the Irish Republic was to be later "charged" with conspiracy over what became known as the, "Arms Crisis," for his intention to import arms into Ireland for use by the besieged Catholic Irish in the 6 Counties "artificially partitioned" from the 9 Counties in the Ulster Province that were still under the control of the British Imperial Government and the Ascendancy "Official" Unionist Stormont Government. 

June: In  the 6 Counties "artificially partitioned" from the 9 Counties in the Ulster Province by the British Imperial Coalition Government in 1922, and now under the control of Harold Wilson the British Labor Prime Minister, a major normal democratic "reform" was finally bought in to allow the inalienable right of 1 man - 1 vote, after 47 years of misrule there by the Ascendancy "Official" Unionists in the Stormont Government who under the many previous British Conservative Governments since 1922 had been allowed to treat the indigenous Irish Catholic population there however they liked to suite their own particular Ascendancy "gerrymandering" ethnic and sectarian agendas, which had created great misery, property damage and many, many loss of lives of innocent people in the population there. Major James Chichester - Clark the recently elected Prime Minister there in these 6 Counties in Ulster Province now toured the Irish Catholic Bogside area without incident, and although a few scattered "Civil Rights" marches were still carried out after this date, and many were planned for later on, they were now all "cancelled" due to this simple "normal" reform finally being brought in. The "Opposition Parties" in the "Official" Unionist controlled Stormont Parliament now also began "verbally attacking" Major James Chichester - Clark for not getting on with even "further" normal reforms, while on the other hand, the hard - line ethnic and sectarian extremist, the Rev. Ian Paisley, continued to hold "rallies" against bringing in any further "reforms" in these 6 Counties in Ulster Province for the Irish Catholic population there.

June 24th: An Administration Commission was appointed in these 6 Counties "artificially partitioned" from the 9 Counties in the Ulster Province.

July 2nd: A White Paper was now issued in regard to these 6 Counties "artificially partitioned" from the 9 Counties in the Ulster Province, that to stop an further "gerrymandering" there by the Ascendancy "Official" Unionist Government, from 1971 on the Local authorities were to be "gone" and replaced by 17 new area Councils, with electoral boundaries to be "re - drawn" by an "Independent" body, but Sir William Craig the hard - line "Official " Unionist leader and his current Anti - Catholic Ascendancy allies came out "against" any of these improved provisions.

      The Fermanagh "Official" Unionist Party now came out and expelled the Duke of W/M and 4 other "Official" Unionists from their Party for supporting the Pro - Terence O Neill "Official" Unionist "candidates" in the previous "February" election. 

July 7th: In these 6 Counties "artificially partitioned" from the 9 Counties in the Ulster Province, "Civil Rights Assemblies" were held in Armagh and Lurgan in Co. Armagh and also at Dungannon in Co. Tyrone and Downpatrick in Co. Down, which were 3 of these 6 Counties in the Ulster Province still under the control of the British Imperial Government and the Ascendancy "Official" Unionist Stormont Government.

July 10th: Major James Chichester - Clark, the "Official" Unionist Ascendancy Stormont Prime Minister in these 6 Counties "artificially partitioned" in the Ulster Province, met with the hard - line extremist the Rev. Ian Paisley, over the "Civil Rights" people being allowed to hold their Assemblies in those 3 Counties in the Ulster Province. (The previous "Official" Unionist Prime Minister, Terence O Neill would never meet with him.)

      The "Derry Citizen's Defence Committee" was formed in the Irish Catholic Bogside area in Co. Derry, one of these 6 Counties previously "artificially partitioned" from the Ulster Province, to protect the Irish Catholic population there should any further "ethnic and sectarian" violence occur there, with 20 members under Patrick Doherty, Sean Keenan and Eamonn Mac Cann, and they also erected "barricades" there for their defence.

July 12th: The Orange Order was once again allowed, to carry out their "provocative" march to continue celebrating William of Orange's victory over the Catholic English King, James 11 nearly 300 years before, which again created "riots" in Derry and Dungiven in Co. Derry, and Lurgan in Co. Armagh and as a consequence the Dungiven Orange Hall was "burnt," and two people were "wounded" in Derry by the Ascendancy "Official" Unionist R.U.C. police and also in Derry during the Saturday night and Sunday morning "rioting" occurred there between the Irish Catholics, the non - Catholics and the "Official" Unionist RUC police, and the first serious"looting" occurred. Eamonn Mac Cann came out and stated that it was now no longer over "Civil Rights," but it was a total "sectarian war," as it seemed the Loyalist Unionists were now panicking, allowing their long time "siege mentality" to control their actions, pushed on continually by people with "other agendas," to over ride their overall "good sense," and the first "sniping" now also took place.

      Brendan Corish the Irish Labour Party leader urged Jack Lynch the Prime Minister of the Irish Republic to arrange a "meeting" with Harold Wilson the British Labour Prime Minister, over the "continuing violence" that was still occurring in these 6 Counties "artificially partitioned" from the 9 Counties in the Ulster Province, which were still under the virtual control of the Ascendancy "Official" Unionist Stormont Government, and Jack Lynch also sent a "delegation" up to Ulster Province to discuss the situation with the Republicans there, who were "dismayed" with the direction Cathal Goulding the "leader" of the "Anti - Treaty IRA" who was taking the "Anti - Treaty IRA" further into Socialism, and a "split" was now apparent in the "Anti - Treaty IRA" there. Cathal Goulding informed him that they were "still prepared" to "defend" the Irish Catholic population there, but they had "no weapons" to do so, while those who were already attempting to "defend" the Irish Catholics there had previously erected "barricades" to keep the Ascendancy "Official" Unionist R.U.C. police out of the Bogside area and the "Derry Action Committee" came out "condemning" the "looting"and the hooligans, but it all was to become much "worse" over the next fortnight. All "Civil Rights" marches were now "banned" by the Ascendancy "Official" Unionist Government in these 6 Counties in Ulster Province, and there were further "sectarian riots" in Belfast in Co. Antrim there, with "petrol bombings" also occurring in Derry in Co. Derry there, and because of this a 150 British Imperial Military Force were now moved to the Navel Base in Derry itself.

July: All of this continuing "sectarian turmoil" in these 6 Counties "artificially partitioned" from the 9 Counties in the Ulster Province, was to come to a "head" when William Mac Kee, although "badly wounded," singly defended St. Matthew's Catholic Church in Belfast in Co. Antrim in the Irish Catholic  Bogside, which was an Irish Nationalist area, from being "burnt down" by a mob of Unionist Loyalist extremists and "riots" also began in Derry in Co. Derry there, which lasted a week and spread to Armagh in Co. Armagh and Belfast in Co. Antrim and the "Derry Defence Committee" with their "barricades" were ready to try and "protect" the Irish Catholic population there as more British Imperial Military Forces were brought in instead of the Ascendancy "Official" Unionist R.U.C. police.

July 14th: The "first" death by "violence" occurred in these 6 Counties "artificially partitioned" from the 9 Counties in the Ulster Province, between the "Civil Rights" marchers and the Ascendancy "Official" Unionist R.U.C. police, and further similar clashes were to occur later on in the month.

July 18th: A "petrol bomb" was thrown at the house of Sir William Craig, the hard - line Ascendancy "Official " Unionist leader, near Belfast in Co. Antrim. one of the 6 Counties "artificially partitioned" from the 9 Counties in the Ulster Province.

July 21st: In these 6 Counties "artificially partitioned" from the 9 Counties in the Ulster Province, 20,000 Irish Catholics attended the "funeral" of a man who had died of a coronary in Derry, following on from an incident during the "riots" there, and the Ascendancy "Official" Unionist Stormont Government had their "Official" Unionist "B" Specials put on standby there in Derry in Co. Derry, which further "upset" the Irish Catholics there, and the Labour M.P.'s in the Westminster Parliament in England.

July 30th:  In these 6 Counties "artificially partitioned" from the 9 Counties in the Ulster Province, the "Civil Rights" members were "removed" from Dungannon Council offices by the Ascendancy "Official" Unionist R.U.C. police, while the hard - line extremist, the Rev. Ian Paisley stood by looking on.

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