On This Day / August 13, 1971

Summary: On This Day – 13th August 1971, political divisions deepened as calls to abolish Stormont followed the introduction of internment. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.

Lynch: ‘Abolish Stormont’ | On This Day – 13th August 1971

MR BRIAN Faulkner is to make a full statement today on last night’s call on the British Government by the Taoiseach for the abolition of Stormont and its replacement by an impartial alternative assembly or commission.

Mr Lynch made it clear that his government would only support peaceful political ways of achieving this. He had not changed his views about the abhorrence he felt for violent methods. Mr Lynch said: ‘The commission I see will be representative of both communities’.

Mr Faulkner responded: ‘I will content myself with saying now that I find neither [the Taoiseach’s] tone nor its content at all helpful in a situation where the prime need is to protect democratic methods against the rule of the gun.’

Funeral of Tragic Ballymurphy Priest

Cardinal Conway and Bishop Philbin were among the 3,000 people, including 250 priests, who attended Requiem Mass for Fr Hugh Mullan in Corpus Christi Church, Ballymurphy yesterday.

Fr Mullan was shot on Monday evening at Moyard Park while giving the last rites to an injured man.

‘Quit Public Bodies’ Call to Nationalists

Within hours of the introduction of internment the SDLP, the Nationalist Party, Republican Labour Party and Civil Rights Association called on all anti-Unionist public representatives to withdraw immediately from their positions and asked the general public to participate in the protest by withholding all rent and rates.

Alliance on Internment

The internment decision has been described by the Alliance Party as a major psychological victory for the IRA in a vicious campaign to make the British Army appear the aggressor in NI and to create as much suffering as possible among the Catholic population.

In the statement, Mr Basil Glass, Alliance chairman, said: ‘The whole strategy of the IRA has been to create as much suffering as possible among the Catholic population and then attempt to pose as defenders of the religious minority.’

Faulkner Issues Detention Orders

Informed sources yesterday revealed that detention orders have been served on just over 230 people.

Some of those detained are being held in Crumlin Road Prison, Belfast and others on the former submarine depot ship, HMS Maidstone in Belfast docks.

(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: While the decision of the SDLP and old-style Nationalists to abandon Stormont preceded the introduction of internment, its introduction triggered an almost universal decision by members of the minority community to withdraw from public bodies in protest.

In the autumn the SDLP and other anti-partitionist MPs formed their own ‘Assembly of the Northern Irish People’ in Dungiven and initiated a ‘rent and rates strike’ among the nationalist population. On the streets, the violence continued.)

On This Day – 13th August 1971

Further Reading on Irish History:

List of other On This Day columns

Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive

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