On This Day / January 30, 1971
Go BackReproduced with permission from The Irish News.
19710130
Reference Date
19710130
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 30th January 1971, Stormont Minister Roy Bradford described violence in Northern Ireland as a “Catholic problem”, prompting a sharp rebuke from MP Paddy Devlin and warnings of further civil-rights unrest in Enniskillen. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Violence ‘A Catholic Problem’ | On This Day – 30th January 1971
THERE was no hint that the recent troubles in Belfast were a Protestant-Catholic confrontation; it was a conflict that was markedly political, said Mr Roy Bradford, Stormont Minister of Commerce last night.
Mr Bradford, who was speaking in North Antrim, said the problem was that a substantial section of the community at best would only reluctantly acquiesce in its British citizenship as a second choice, and at the worst, hated it with a bitter hatred and would reject it by every possible means, including violence.
That was why the British Army was attacked in Ballymurphy and Ardoyne.
And that was why this particular problem was a Catholic problem and why its solution lay largely in the hands of the Catholic community.
The leaders of that community and all the decent men and women who form its large majority see all too clearly what was happening to their children and their Christian standard of life.
They saw the futility of violence. They saw that respect for law was indivisible and that once it was broken down, only criminal elements of every kind would profit.
The Government had gone as far and as fast as it could in rectifying grievances.
Devlin Attacks ‘Colossal Cheek’
HOWEVER, the Commerce Minister has been sharply rebuked by Falls MP Mr Paddy Devlin for displaying ‘a colossal cheek’ in asserting that the problem of violence in the North is a Catholic one.
The ‘fundamental Ulster problem’, as Mr Bradford saw it, was that there were many people in Nl who accepted British citizenship with reluctance.
It was worth making two points, Mr Devlin said. Firstly, many people here had been reluctant to accept the second-class citizenship imposed by Mr Bradford and his predecessors since this state was set up.
Secondly, it is the democratic right of every individual to support Republican ideals if he so wishes.
Mr Bradford’s contention that the Government had gone as far and as fast as it could in rectifying grievances was ‘ridiculous nonsense’ in view of a recent injunction imposed on Dungannon Rural Council on its [sectarian] housing policy.
Enniskillen Future ‘Cockpit’
A PROTEST meeting in Enniskillen against the imprisonment of Mr Frank McManus, MP was told that the town would become the ‘cockpit’ for future Civil Rights agitation and there would be no peace until the corrupt County Council was abolished and the powers and privileges of the Brookes and the Wests were replaced by fair play.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: A suave, modern Unionist with Monaghan roots, Roy Bradford characterised the ongoing violence as a ‘Catholic problem’, ignoring the UVF bombing campaign and the mob attacks of August ’69.)
On This Day – 30th January 1971
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19710130
Reference Date
19710130
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 30th January 1971, Stormont Minister Roy Bradford described violence in Northern Ireland as a “Catholic problem”, prompting a sharp rebuke from MP Paddy Devlin and warnings of further civil-rights unrest in Enniskillen. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Violence ‘A Catholic Problem’ | On This Day – 30th January 1971
THERE was no hint that the recent troubles in Belfast were a Protestant-Catholic confrontation; it was a conflict that was markedly political, said Mr Roy Bradford, Stormont Minister of Commerce last night.
Mr Bradford, who was speaking in North Antrim, said the problem was that a substantial section of the community at best would only reluctantly acquiesce in its British citizenship as a second choice, and at the worst, hated it with a bitter hatred and would reject it by every possible means, including violence.
That was why the British Army was attacked in Ballymurphy and Ardoyne.
And that was why this particular problem was a Catholic problem and why its solution lay largely in the hands of the Catholic community.
The leaders of that community and all the decent men and women who form its large majority see all too clearly what was happening to their children and their Christian standard of life.
They saw the futility of violence. They saw that respect for law was indivisible and that once it was broken down, only criminal elements of every kind would profit.
The Government had gone as far and as fast as it could in rectifying grievances.
Devlin Attacks ‘Colossal Cheek’
HOWEVER, the Commerce Minister has been sharply rebuked by Falls MP Mr Paddy Devlin for displaying ‘a colossal cheek’ in asserting that the problem of violence in the North is a Catholic one.
The ‘fundamental Ulster problem’, as Mr Bradford saw it, was that there were many people in Nl who accepted British citizenship with reluctance.
It was worth making two points, Mr Devlin said. Firstly, many people here had been reluctant to accept the second-class citizenship imposed by Mr Bradford and his predecessors since this state was set up.
Secondly, it is the democratic right of every individual to support Republican ideals if he so wishes.
Mr Bradford’s contention that the Government had gone as far and as fast as it could in rectifying grievances was ‘ridiculous nonsense’ in view of a recent injunction imposed on Dungannon Rural Council on its [sectarian] housing policy.
Enniskillen Future ‘Cockpit’
A PROTEST meeting in Enniskillen against the imprisonment of Mr Frank McManus, MP was told that the town would become the ‘cockpit’ for future Civil Rights agitation and there would be no peace until the corrupt County Council was abolished and the powers and privileges of the Brookes and the Wests were replaced by fair play.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: A suave, modern Unionist with Monaghan roots, Roy Bradford characterised the ongoing violence as a ‘Catholic problem’, ignoring the UVF bombing campaign and the mob attacks of August ’69.)
On This Day – 30th January 1971
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19710130
Reference Date
January 30, 2021
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice *
Summary: On This Day – 30th January 1971, Stormont Minister Roy Bradford described violence in Northern Ireland as a “Catholic problem”, prompting a sharp rebuke from MP Paddy Devlin and warnings of further civil-rights unrest in Enniskillen. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Violence ‘A Catholic Problem’ | On This Day – 30th January 1971
THERE was no hint that the recent troubles in Belfast were a Protestant-Catholic confrontation; it was a conflict that was markedly political, said Mr Roy Bradford, Stormont Minister of Commerce last night.
Mr Bradford, who was speaking in North Antrim, said the problem was that a substantial section of the community at best would only reluctantly acquiesce in its British citizenship as a second choice, and at the worst, hated it with a bitter hatred and would reject it by every possible means, including violence.
That was why the British Army was attacked in Ballymurphy and Ardoyne.
And that was why this particular problem was a Catholic problem and why its solution lay largely in the hands of the Catholic community.
The leaders of that community and all the decent men and women who form its large majority see all too clearly what was happening to their children and their Christian standard of life.
They saw the futility of violence. They saw that respect for law was indivisible and that once it was broken down, only criminal elements of every kind would profit.
The Government had gone as far and as fast as it could in rectifying grievances.
Devlin Attacks ‘Colossal Cheek’
HOWEVER, the Commerce Minister has been sharply rebuked by Falls MP Mr Paddy Devlin for displaying ‘a colossal cheek’ in asserting that the problem of violence in the North is a Catholic one.
The ‘fundamental Ulster problem’, as Mr Bradford saw it, was that there were many people in Nl who accepted British citizenship with reluctance.
It was worth making two points, Mr Devlin said. Firstly, many people here had been reluctant to accept the second-class citizenship imposed by Mr Bradford and his predecessors since this state was set up.
Secondly, it is the democratic right of every individual to support Republican ideals if he so wishes.
Mr Bradford’s contention that the Government had gone as far and as fast as it could in rectifying grievances was ‘ridiculous nonsense’ in view of a recent injunction imposed on Dungannon Rural Council on its [sectarian] housing policy.
Enniskillen Future ‘Cockpit’
A PROTEST meeting in Enniskillen against the imprisonment of Mr Frank McManus, MP was told that the town would become the ‘cockpit’ for future Civil Rights agitation and there would be no peace until the corrupt County Council was abolished and the powers and privileges of the Brookes and the Wests were replaced by fair play.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: A suave, modern Unionist with Monaghan roots, Roy Bradford characterised the ongoing violence as a ‘Catholic problem’, ignoring the UVF bombing campaign and the mob attacks of August ’69.)
On This Day – 30th January 1971
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
On This Day is a daily column in the Irish News looking back either 50 or 100 years. The column was compiled by Dr Éamon Phoenix from the mid 1980s until autumn, 2022. The Foundation is very grateful to the Irish News for giving permission to reproduce Eamon’s columns. Funding gratefully received from Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and the Magill Trust.
* The Foundation has worked hard to recreate Eamon’s distinctive voice through AI. Since this is an emerging technology, occasional imperfections may be audible.