1972 AD - 3 - April to May

April: William Whitelaw, the 54 year old Scot, who was now the appointed British Conservative Government's Secretary of State in the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, arrived into Ireland, to take up his position under the Direct Rule of the British Imperial Government in England.

April 19th: In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, the British Conservative Government, had previously put into place a Tribunal Inquiry under only one man, Lord Widgery, a British Lord Justice, who was not only from the British Establishment, but was also a former British Imperial Military Army Officer, who conducted the inquiry personally from his own point of view into the previous blatant massacre of the 13 Irish people on "Bloody Sunday." Despite the fact that it was now publicly known World Wide what had occurred and that they had been deliberately massacred in cold blood by the British Military Forces, he naturally exonerated the British Military Paratroopers of any blame at all. The British Imperial Government would come to realise that this was just too much a whitewash and it was not to go away so easily this time. (Eventually, a British Labour Government which was then to be under Tony Blair in 1998, were to order a new inquiry into the whole sordid affair). Meanwhile, the British Imperial Military Headquarters in 1972 were to release an early leaked report to the British press, stating that, "Widgery Clears the Army."

   In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, with the introduction of Direct Rule by the British Imperial Government everyone who was interested was expecting matters to improve somewhat, as against the previous control of the Ascendancy "Official" Stormont Government's manner of doing things. The I.R.A. were considering if things went as they should, they would no longer be needed by the people, as the Irish Catholics would now be looking forward to some reprieve, and some relief, together with some justice and their normal Civil Rights. They were all hoping for the restoration of order, and for the removal of the gerrymandering, discrimination, police brutality, and all of the other grievances that had occurred in these 6 Counties in Ulster. The I.R.A. Belfast Brigade in Co. Antrim, now called for a 4 week ceasefire, in response to the British Conservative Governments introduction of Direct Rule.       

     The Ascendancy Unionist Defence Association / U.D.A. and the street gangs of 50 to 100 members, who were known as "Tartans," now began provoking the Irish Catholic population in the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, and they continued to grow to a frightening strength, so the I.R.A. in response also renewed their strength as a counter balance, to try once again to defend the Irish Catholic areas. This was to go on until both sides were to suffer humiliation at the hands of the British Imperial Military during "Operation Motorman." 

April 22nd:  In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, a rally was held in Derry in Co. Derry, by the Ascendancy Loyalist Association of Workers, who were to also attack a few Irish Catholic youths, who were walking along the street, and rioting began, and spread for the first time into the Waterside area. It continued on all night in the Irish Catholic area in Eastern Derry, Gobnascle Estate and Lisnogelerin, which was a Unionist area, and was sustained on through the following Saturday night into Sunday. Other rioting also then occurred in various areas throughout these 6 Counties in Ulster, especially in Lisburn in Co. Antrim, were the Unionists from the Old Warren Estate went on a night and day campaign of burning and destruction.

      In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, Bernadette Devlin and Michael Farrell from the N.I.C.R.A. / Civil Rights Association, held a rally outside of the Long Kesh Prison, were some of the political prisoners were now being held, and they were stoned by the Unionist Tartans, while Martin Smyth, the Unionist leader at Newtownards, wanted to use arms instead. The R.U.C. / Royal Ulster Constabulary police on the Albertbridge Road, fought with the Unionist Tartans for several hours, who also attacked the Irish Catholic houses in Limestone Road, were neither the R.U.C. police, nor the British Military forces gave them any assistance, and further severe rioting continued on throughout the following weekend.

       In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province,

      In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, the 100th British Imperial Military Regiment arrived  into Ireland, from England, to add to the massive number of British Imperial Military forces already there. The Ascendancy Unionists now took a journalist to Derry in Co. Derry were they showed him 10,000 of their men there who were all ready to go, with brand new British arms.    

May 11th:  In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, Kelly's Pub was blown up and 5 more Irish Catholics were killed.

May 13th: In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, the Provos / P.I.R.A. / Provisional IRA retaliated in the Sandy Row area were 17 more people were injured there.

May 14th: In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, 8 more people were killed around the Ballymurphy Estate, and the first major haul of Unionist arms were found at Springmartin, and that night the Unionist Defence Force came out in the Upper Shankhill and Crumlin Roads in West Belfast at Woodvale and erected barricades. They demanded that any of the Unionists who had carried out the attacks on the Catholic Irish, who were being held should be released from jail, and they continued to barricade all of their areas there, but by the next day they withdrew.      

      In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, a gun battle occurred between the British Imperial Military forces and the I.R.A. in Andersontown in West Belfast in Co. Antrim, were a woman was killed in the crossfire, and the women on the estate wanted the P.I.R.A. / Provos / Provisional IRA to hold a ceasefire. The IRA was concerned that if they stopped their disruptive activities in the 6 Counties in Ulster, the "Official" Unionist Government might be re - installed in Stormont. On the other hand the Official I.R.A. did not want Stormont to be done away with, or have to be involved in fighting, to try and stop the defections from their group.

      William Whitelaw, the British Conservative Government's appointed Secretary of State, returned to the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, which were still under their control, from a visit to Scotland, and had General Tuzo remove any further remaining barricades in the streets, and at midnight on the following Saturday in East Belfast in Co. Antrim, the Unionist Defence Force / U.D.F was out again building barricades at Willowfield. Next morning, the British Imperial Military dismantled these barricades also with no lives being lost. The Unionist Defence Force / U.D.F responded by placing 6 further barricades across the Shankhill Road, and the British Imperial Military forces and the R.U.C. police moved in there, and there was further fighting until they were also removed, but this time another man was killed accidently during the operation.

       In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, William Whitelaw the British appointed Secretary of State tried to set up a committee of Ascendancy Unionist politicians and the S.D.L.P. / Social Democratic Labour Party politicians to advise him, but neither was interested. Finally in a positive gesture of goodwill he released 73 Irish Republican political internees, lifted the ban on marches, declared Amnesty for all convicted of taking part in illegal demonstrations, announced a 115,000,000 pounds development for Derry in Co. Derry, and a 35,000,000 pounds expansion for the Harland & Wolff shipyards in Belfast.

May 20th: In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, a British Imperial Military soldier, who was a Catholic Irish man from the Bogside area, was shot on leave in Derry in Co. Derry, and the locals there condemned the Official I.R.A. for his killing, to which they replied that they were now not an Irish Catholic militant force, but were out to build a revolutionary Socialist Party of all the Irish working class.

May 29th: In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, the Official I.R.A., now declared a definite ceasefire, and from now on there was only the P.I.R.A. Provisional IRA / Provos left to continue on.

      In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, a strike was conducted in the Crumlin Road Prison, against prison work, to try and gain political status, which developed into a hunger strike by 40 of the men there, and Jack Lynch the Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland carried out a crackdown on the I.R.A. in the Irish Republic itself, where 100 I.R.A members were convicted, and there was also a riot in Mountjoy Prison there, to gain political status also.