On This Day / October 1, 1921

Summary: On This Day – 1st October 1921, Catholics and Nationalists in Cookstown gathered to protest against violence and intimidation amid growing concerns over the activities of the B Specials. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.

Terror by ‘Specials’ | On This Day – 1st October 1921

ADDRESSING Strandtown Unionist Club, Sir Dawson Bates (Northern Minister of Home Affairs) said he had the honour and great responsibility of being the Minister but he was more like a king without a kingdom because, until the services were transferred to the Northern Government, he had no power whatever and the duty at the present time of maintaining law and order rested with Dublin Castle.

Having paid tribute to the Special Constabulary, [he said] Sir James was overcoming those difficulties. (Applause).

Cookstown Declares War on ‘Bs’

A PUBLIC meeting was held in the Foresters’ Hall Cookstown [County Tyrone] on Thursday evening for the purpose of ‘discussing vital questions affecting the lives, property and liberty of the Catholics and Nationalists of the town and district, menaced by organised lawlessness and terrorism’.

There was a large and representative attendance over which Mr Henry Walls, chairman of the Cookstown Board of Guardians, presided.

The chairman said they all knew the state of affairs which existed in Cookstown. On their side they had observed that Truce, but unfortunately, Catholics going about had been badly maltreated and assaulted by armed bands, the members of which wore masks and carried revolvers.

It was their duty to try and protect themselves as best they could and it was the business of the meeting to come to some arrangement whereby the lives and properties of the people might be saved from outrages.

Dr J Gillespie said the Catholics of Cookstown and district stood shoulder to shoulder in their determination to resist the imposition of the illegal force upon them.

Since the Truce was declared not a single Catholic had violated it, but they knew that could not be said of the other side. There were many incidences of outrages committed by these armed Orangemen.

They had the case of a young lad who was shot while returning from a charity fete and who died. Next they had the murderous attack upon a motorcar…when a passenger was wounded.

Then they had the incident at Drumullan where respectable Catholic people were ambushed and a murderous fire opened on them.

Some time after that they had the waylaying of Catholics near Draperstown by armed and disguised men.

The resolution was passed unanimously and a committee of representative men was formed to look after their interests.

(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: Suspended from duty under the Truce to the anger of the Unionist government, the B Specials resorted to menacing, sectarian demonstrations.

Following a series of gun attacks on local Catholics in mid-Ulster, Dr James Gillespie, a local doctor and coroner, and Tom Harbison, the Nationalist MP, appealed to the Dáil for assistance.)

On This Day – 1st October 1921

Further Reading on Irish History:

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