On This Day / November 17, 1970
Go BackReproduced with permission from The Irish News.
19701117
Reference Date
19701117
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 17th November 1970, two men were shot dead in Ballymurphy, Belfast, in a chilling double murder that shocked the city. The IRA denied involvement, though the killings were later linked to the early Provisional movement. Meanwhile, the CCDC appealed for calm, insisting that violence only harmed the minority cause. Edited by Dr Éamon Phoenix.
Two Gunned Down in Belfast | On This Day – 17th November 1970
THE two Belfast men, gunned down at Westrock Drive, Ballymurphy, yesterday were not assassinated by the IRA. The IRA Publicity Bureau in Dublin said last night that the men, Arthur McKenna and Alexander McVicker, both 35, were not Republicans and the Movement was in no way associated with the shootings.
Both men died on their way to hospital after being shot – one through the head and the other in the back – while pushing a van that had broken down.
An eyewitness to the daylight horror, ten year old John Harley, said: ‘I was in Westrock Drive when a man wearing a white coat and a black hat pushed me over the railings and drew a gun from his pocket. He began shooting and when he stopped he jumped into a blue mini-van.’
McKenna, of Whitecliffe Crescent, was the father of five while McVicker of Monagh Road had four children. According to the police, McKenna had been beaten up by a gang of men at a club on the Falls Road on Saturday night.
McKenna’s wife, Mary (33), the mother of three boys and two girls, said that her husband was never involved with any political or extremist organisation.
‘No-one came to tell me that my husband had been murdered,’ she said. ‘I was told about two hours afterwards by a relative. My husband was a man of few words. He was very kind and helpful to everyone in the area. He was a member of the Ballymurphy Peace Committee.’
(Eamon Phoenix editor’s note: This unprecedented gangster-style double murder not only shocked West Belfast but was a foretaste of events to come.
According to a Ballymurphy community worker, Ciaran de Baroid in his memoir, both men were well known petty criminals. The RUC ascribed the murders to the emerging Provisional IRA.)
‘Violence Harms Minority Cause’ – CCDC
THE Central Citizens’ Defence Committee (CCDC) has published the following advertisement in The Irish News: ‘For the past two years history has been made before our eyes.
“In NI there is a determined demand for justice and democracy, a vigorous effort to secure for the minority a proper democratic voice in shaping the future.… Street violence is a recurring problem.
‘Violence is OUT. Why? Because violence is totally unproductive and is morally unjustifiable. Because violence harms the minority cause….
‘A number of groups are contributing to this situation. Some call themselves Republicans but the vast majority …repudiate their extreme tactics.’
(Eamon Phoenix editor’s note: A spontaneous reaction to the chaos of August 1969, the moderate CCDC, led by businessman, Tom Conaty and Falls Rd priest, Fr Padraig Murphy, found itself marginalised by the violent men and quickly faded into history.)
On This Day – 17th November 1970
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19701117
Reference Date
19701117
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 17th November 1970, two men were shot dead in Ballymurphy, Belfast, in a chilling double murder that shocked the city. The IRA denied involvement, though the killings were later linked to the early Provisional movement. Meanwhile, the CCDC appealed for calm, insisting that violence only harmed the minority cause. Edited by Dr Éamon Phoenix.
Two Gunned Down in Belfast | On This Day – 17th November 1970
THE two Belfast men, gunned down at Westrock Drive, Ballymurphy, yesterday were not assassinated by the IRA. The IRA Publicity Bureau in Dublin said last night that the men, Arthur McKenna and Alexander McVicker, both 35, were not Republicans and the Movement was in no way associated with the shootings.
Both men died on their way to hospital after being shot – one through the head and the other in the back – while pushing a van that had broken down.
An eyewitness to the daylight horror, ten year old John Harley, said: ‘I was in Westrock Drive when a man wearing a white coat and a black hat pushed me over the railings and drew a gun from his pocket. He began shooting and when he stopped he jumped into a blue mini-van.’
McKenna, of Whitecliffe Crescent, was the father of five while McVicker of Monagh Road had four children. According to the police, McKenna had been beaten up by a gang of men at a club on the Falls Road on Saturday night.
McKenna’s wife, Mary (33), the mother of three boys and two girls, said that her husband was never involved with any political or extremist organisation.
‘No-one came to tell me that my husband had been murdered,’ she said. ‘I was told about two hours afterwards by a relative. My husband was a man of few words. He was very kind and helpful to everyone in the area. He was a member of the Ballymurphy Peace Committee.’
(Eamon Phoenix editor’s note: This unprecedented gangster-style double murder not only shocked West Belfast but was a foretaste of events to come.
According to a Ballymurphy community worker, Ciaran de Baroid in his memoir, both men were well known petty criminals. The RUC ascribed the murders to the emerging Provisional IRA.)
‘Violence Harms Minority Cause’ – CCDC
THE Central Citizens’ Defence Committee (CCDC) has published the following advertisement in The Irish News: ‘For the past two years history has been made before our eyes.
“In NI there is a determined demand for justice and democracy, a vigorous effort to secure for the minority a proper democratic voice in shaping the future.… Street violence is a recurring problem.
‘Violence is OUT. Why? Because violence is totally unproductive and is morally unjustifiable. Because violence harms the minority cause….
‘A number of groups are contributing to this situation. Some call themselves Republicans but the vast majority …repudiate their extreme tactics.’
(Eamon Phoenix editor’s note: A spontaneous reaction to the chaos of August 1969, the moderate CCDC, led by businessman, Tom Conaty and Falls Rd priest, Fr Padraig Murphy, found itself marginalised by the violent men and quickly faded into history.)
On This Day – 17th November 1970
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19701117
Reference Date
November 17, 2020
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice *
Summary: On This Day – 17th November 1970, two men were shot dead in Ballymurphy, Belfast, in a chilling double murder that shocked the city. The IRA denied involvement, though the killings were later linked to the early Provisional movement. Meanwhile, the CCDC appealed for calm, insisting that violence only harmed the minority cause. Edited by Dr Éamon Phoenix.
Two Gunned Down in Belfast | On This Day – 17th November 1970
THE two Belfast men, gunned down at Westrock Drive, Ballymurphy, yesterday were not assassinated by the IRA. The IRA Publicity Bureau in Dublin said last night that the men, Arthur McKenna and Alexander McVicker, both 35, were not Republicans and the Movement was in no way associated with the shootings.
Both men died on their way to hospital after being shot – one through the head and the other in the back – while pushing a van that had broken down.
An eyewitness to the daylight horror, ten year old John Harley, said: ‘I was in Westrock Drive when a man wearing a white coat and a black hat pushed me over the railings and drew a gun from his pocket. He began shooting and when he stopped he jumped into a blue mini-van.’
McKenna, of Whitecliffe Crescent, was the father of five while McVicker of Monagh Road had four children. According to the police, McKenna had been beaten up by a gang of men at a club on the Falls Road on Saturday night.
McKenna’s wife, Mary (33), the mother of three boys and two girls, said that her husband was never involved with any political or extremist organisation.
‘No-one came to tell me that my husband had been murdered,’ she said. ‘I was told about two hours afterwards by a relative. My husband was a man of few words. He was very kind and helpful to everyone in the area. He was a member of the Ballymurphy Peace Committee.’
(Eamon Phoenix editor’s note: This unprecedented gangster-style double murder not only shocked West Belfast but was a foretaste of events to come.
According to a Ballymurphy community worker, Ciaran de Baroid in his memoir, both men were well known petty criminals. The RUC ascribed the murders to the emerging Provisional IRA.)
‘Violence Harms Minority Cause’ – CCDC
THE Central Citizens’ Defence Committee (CCDC) has published the following advertisement in The Irish News: ‘For the past two years history has been made before our eyes.
“In NI there is a determined demand for justice and democracy, a vigorous effort to secure for the minority a proper democratic voice in shaping the future.… Street violence is a recurring problem.
‘Violence is OUT. Why? Because violence is totally unproductive and is morally unjustifiable. Because violence harms the minority cause….
‘A number of groups are contributing to this situation. Some call themselves Republicans but the vast majority …repudiate their extreme tactics.’
(Eamon Phoenix editor’s note: A spontaneous reaction to the chaos of August 1969, the moderate CCDC, led by businessman, Tom Conaty and Falls Rd priest, Fr Padraig Murphy, found itself marginalised by the violent men and quickly faded into history.)
On This Day – 17th November 1970
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.