1972 AD - 2 - February to March
February:
In the 6 Counties
artificially partitioned from the 9 in the
Ulster Province, the I.R.A.
now increased their activities with an
M.P. in the
"Official" Unionist Stormont Parliament being
wounded, 2 more
British Imperial Military
troops were
also killed, along with two Loyalist
terrorist. The I.R.A.
now declared publicly that it was open season on the
British Imperial Military forces as a
"foreign" army of occupation in these 6 Counties in
Ulster.
February 9th: In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, this particular day was planned as, "D. Day" / "Disruption Day," by the members of the Civil Rights Association, as a public protest against the previous 13 blatant outright "bloody" murders carried out by the British Imperial Military Paratroopers in Derry in Co. Derry on the young Civil Rights marchers there on "Bloody Sunday" the previous 30th of January.
February 12th:
In the 6 Counties
artificially partitioned from the 9 in the
Ulster Province, a
new
Ascendancy
Unionist Vanguard rally was held at
Lisburn under the leadership of
the hard line Anti - Catholic,
William Craig and
Martin Smyth who was the
County Grand Master
of the
Belfast Orange Lodge., It was
a
military type operation, with
7,000 in attendance of
which and
500
were in
uniform and
their leader, William Craig
stated that it was,
" To defend our British way of life,
and God help those who get in our way."
February
13th:
In the 6 Counties artificially
partitioned from the 9 in the
Ulster Province, due to the previous "massacre" of
so many of the innocent Irish
civilian population on "Bloody Sunday" by the British Imperial Military forces,
what was now occurring there in these 6 Counties in
Ulster had by now
finally come under the spotlight for all to see. Owing
to the World wide pressure brought on now by such a terrible occurrence in this
day and age, Edward Heath the
Prime Minister of the British
Conservative Government floated the idea of an Ascendancy
"Official"
Unionist
Prime Minister, and a Catholic
Deputy in the Stormont Parliament there. 3
to
4
seats in the Parliament would go to representatives of the
Irish Catholics there, and a
referendum would be held every
12 years as to
continuing
on with the artificial partition of
Ireland. They
also offered to soften, "Internment without Trial,"
and the release of all the political prisoners, but
William Craig, the Ascendancy "Official" Unionist hard - liner,
came out against it, declaring it's introduction
would bring on Civil War in these
6 Counties in Ulster.
Meanwhile, the political
Social
Democratic Party / S.D.L. Party
in the 6 Counties artificially
partitioned from the 9 in the
Ulster Province, were holding
weekly meetings of the
"Assembly of Northern Irish Peoples"
at
Dungiven, trying to keep all of
the people in the north of Ireland united in a
common cause.
Jack Lynch,
the Prime Minister
of the Republic
of Ireland, was declaring passive resistance
to the Ascendancy "official"
Unionist Stormont Government in
the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the
9 in the Ulster Province,
as
the only way to go for the remaining Catholic
Irish population there
and also demanded that the
continuing
misgovernment there must be brought to an end by Edward Heath and the British
Conservative Government.
When the Stormont Parliament
met
the following week,
34 Unionists members still sat behind
Brian Faulkner, the
"Official" Unionist Prime Minister, while on the other
side there were only
4 in the Opposition, including
Thomas
Gormley, Bertie Mac Connell,
Phelim O Neill
and
Vivian Simpson from the
Labour Party, and they had no hope
of bringing about any change, but at least they had made a personal stand for
reform
in these 6 Counties.
February 22:
In
the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the
9 in the Ulster Province,
the Official I.R.A.,
left a car bomb near the officer's mess of the
British Imperial Military 16th Parachute Regiment
H.Q.at Aldershot
in
England, which killed
7
people, including a Catholic
priest, but no British Imperial Military soldiers, while the bombings still being carried out were averaging
4 a day.
February 25th:
In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the
9 in the Ulster Province,
John Taylor another
"Official" Unionist hard - liner, who was
the Minister of State
for Home Affairs
in the Ascendancy
"Official" Unionist Stormont Government, who had been
the original prime mover for, "Internment
without Trial," and for closing the artificial
partition border
to
divide Ireland completely was shot
in
Armagh. Despite
this latest action by now the
Official I.R.A. had nearly
run its race, and it was the Provisional I.R.A. / Provos
who from now on would be continuing on with the campaign in these
6
Counties in Ulster while trying to protect the besieged population there
and re - unite
the 32 Counties of Ireland,
February 26th:
In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the
9 in the Ulster Province,
there was a record
106
bombings carried out throughout these
6 Counties in Ulster and the
British Imperial Military forces
now tried to place
concrete spikes on the roads at the artificial partition border,
but the farmers there and the
I.R.A. removed them. To combat this the British
Imperial Military forces then carried
out a major operation with explosives by blowing great craters in
all of the roads there, to make them un - useable.
March:
Edward Heath the British Prime Minister in England and
his Conservative Government, up
until this time, still had done nothing concrete to ease
the situation for the population in these particular
6 Counties in
the Ulster Province that were actually still under their
Imperial control.
March 4th:
In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the
9 in the Ulster Province,
on this day, the Abercorn Restaurant
in
Belfast in Co. Antrim, was bombed and
2 girls were killed and
136
injured, with no one claiming responsibility for the
attack.
In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, the Unionist Vanguard now held a rally were 60,000 Unionists attended, under the leadership of William Craig the Ascendancy hard - liner at Bangor, were he once again stated to the crowd there that, "They could go as far as killing, as it may be our job to liquidate the enemy," and an Ascendancy Unionist army was now forming in these particular 6 Counties in Ulster that would eventually become the Unionist Defence Association / U.D.A.
March 10th:
In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the
9 in the Ulster Province,
the P.I.R.A. /
Provos lost
4
of
their men in a bomb factory in
Clonard Street in Belfast in Co. Antrim,
so
Sean Mac Stiofain
the leader of the
Provisional I.R.A. / Provos, made an offer
to the British Conservative
Government to bring about a ceasefire. He wanted them
to withdraw their
British Imperial Military forces back into
their barracks,
abolish the
"Official" Unionist Stormont Government, give
an amnesty to all political prisoners, and
acknowledge the right of all of the
Irish people
in Ireland to
Self Determination. They
did not respond in any way, although he had
created a 3
day ceasefire as a goodwill gesture, during which there was only one
incident, to encourage further peace talks. At the end of the ceasefire, there were
16
explosions carried out in Belfast
in Co. Antrim and Derry in
Co. Derry, and
Seamus Twomey and his
I.R.A. staff met at
Anderstown from were they went to
Dublin
to see
Sean Mac Stiofain,
and
were told that the War
was to continue, but only against the occupying force the
British Imperial Military.
March 20th:
In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the
9 in the Ulster Province,
on this day, a car bomb exploded in Lower
Donegal Street in Belfast
in Co. Antrim, and
2
R.U.C. police and
4 civilians were killed.
March 22nd:
In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the
9 in the Ulster Province,
on this day, a bomb in Belfast
in Co. Antrim
planted by the I.R.A.,
killed another
6 people and injured
150,
which was the worst ever, and this was
to be the
final catalyst for a political change in these 6
Counties in Ulster, that were still under the
overall control of
the British Imperial Conservative Government in England.
Brian Faulkner, the
"Official" Unionist Stormont Prime Minster and
John Andrews his
Deputy, now considered
that this further terrible tragedy would ensure that the
Ascendancy "Official" Unionist Stormont Government
would continue to retain their authority over these
6
Counties in Ulster, but
Edward Heath
the Conservative
British Prime Minister now saw it differently, as he finally had to accept that
they were not competent.
On the other hand,
William Craig, the
Ascendancy "Official" Unionist hard - liner, was now expecting
Direct Rule
by the British Imperial Government and saw
"Great Britain,"
and the
British controlled
6 Counties in Ulster, (known to them as Northern Ireland,)
coming to an end.
Brian Faulkner was now forced to inform his
Ascendancy "Official" Unionist Stormont Cabinet
of the
decision of
Edward Heath, that they should now hand over to
Direct Rule to the British
Imperial Government in
England, and he went to to
England with his
Deputy
John Andrews,
to see
Edward Heath,
who advised
him to tender his resignation together with that of
his Ascendancy "Official" Stormont Cabinet
in the 6 Counties in Ulster
still under their control.
Brian
Faulkner, the "Official" Unionist Stormont Prime Minister, was advised by Edward Heath
the British Conservative Prime
Minister, that a
British Secretary of State was
to be appointed in the 6 Counties still under their
control in Ulster
in Ireland, that had
been artificially partitioned from
the whole 9 in the Ulster
Province.
The British Secretary of State was
to take over the running of these
6 Counties in Ulster,
with all
powers there to be transferred to the
British Westminster Parliament. It
now seemed that the original British Imperial Government's 50
year total Ascendancy experiment, had finally run its
race.
March 24th:
In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the
9 in the Ulster Province,
the failure of the British Imperial Government's previous
policy in Ireland by their introduction by force of
"British might" of their
1922
Ascendancy Parliament
by the artificial partitioning of
Ireland
had
totally collapsed after
50
years of total Ascendancy
"Official" Unionist control. Edward Heath the British
Conservative
Prime Minister now suspended
Home Rule by the
Ascendancy
"official" Unionist Stormont Government for one year, and
introduced
Direct Rule from
England. This had been brought about under their new
N. I. Temporary Provisions Act,
and
he was to put in
William Whitelaw
as his
British Secretary of State in these 6 Counties in
Ulster, and some
further reforms were introduced, with the
gerrymandering Councils
being dismissed, anti - Catholic
discrimination in public housing abolished, along
with discrimination against
Irish Catholic public and
private sector employment.
March 28th:
The Ascendancy
"Official"
Stormont Parliament
in
these 6
Counties in the Ulster Province, was now "officially" finished, and only
25
members turned up, while
Desmond Boal
and
John Mac Quaid
resigned by letter, and
20
others voted to close the Parliament, and
4
were against it, and the
Unionists
outside the building
rallied around the flag of the Red
Hand of Ulster, and there were now no
Union Jacks to be seen.