On This Day / May 3, 1971
Go BackReproduced with permission from The Irish News.
19710503
Reference Date
19710503
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 3rd May 1971, bomb attacks targeted homes of RUC officers in Belfast, while concerns over discrimination grew, and Ian Paisley was denounced internationally. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
RUC Men’s Homes Attacked | On This Day 3rd May 1971
FIVE explosions rocked Belfast late last night and early today, wrecking the homes of two senior RUC officers, badly damaging a downtown furniture store and causing slight damage to two other houses. The only casualty was Inspector Samuel Kyle who suffered slight facial injuries.
His wife was treated for shock. Two heavy charges of gelignite exploded almost simultaneously about 11.30 p.m. outside the homes of Superintendent Ross Laird and Inspector Kyle, about a mile apart in North Belfast. Both officers were attached to the Special Branch.
Superintendent Laird, his wife, their daughter Mary and Mrs Cecil Patterson, widow of Inspector Cecil Patterson who was shot by gunmen just over two months ago, were in the Laird residence when the explosion blasted in the front.
Seventeen-year-old Mary Laird had a narrow escape when she saw two men leave a package outside.
Discrimination Raised
THE fifteen months old Commissioner for Complaints Department was described as ‘useless’ at a trade union conference in Belfast.
The attack came from Mr Jack Hassard (Union of Post Office Workers) at the closing conference of the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
Mr Hassard asked what the Commissioner, Mr John Benn had actually done about maladministration.
He said that Mr Benn was empowered to hand matters over to the Attorney-General for prosecutions in court, but had not done so.
Mr Brendan Harkin (NI Civil Service Association) said the Department’s legislation was completely inadequate.
‘I have no doubt that until there is a law in NI outlawing discrimination and until there is machinery similar to that of the Race Relations Act, we will not be able to deal with the problem effectively.’
Paisley Denounced
THE Conference of European Churches in Nyborg, Denmark yesterday denounced the militant Protestant movement in Northern Ireland and its leader Rev Ian Paisley.
The Conference urged the Stormont Government to introduce a new social welfare legislation giving everybody full civil rights.
Meanwhile an appeal to the people of NI to uphold the ideals of freedom and shun all forms of bigotry and sectarianism is made by Mr William Blease, the NI officer of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) in his May Day message.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: Inexplicably, the vexed issue of discrimination in employment was not directly addressed in 1968’s civil rights reforms.
Despite trade unionists’ concerns, the issue was not effectively dealt with until 1989’s Fair Employment Act.)
On This Day – 3rd May 1971
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19710503
Reference Date
19710503
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 3rd May 1971, bomb attacks targeted homes of RUC officers in Belfast, while concerns over discrimination grew, and Ian Paisley was denounced internationally. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
RUC Men’s Homes Attacked | On This Day 3rd May 1971
FIVE explosions rocked Belfast late last night and early today, wrecking the homes of two senior RUC officers, badly damaging a downtown furniture store and causing slight damage to two other houses. The only casualty was Inspector Samuel Kyle who suffered slight facial injuries.
His wife was treated for shock. Two heavy charges of gelignite exploded almost simultaneously about 11.30 p.m. outside the homes of Superintendent Ross Laird and Inspector Kyle, about a mile apart in North Belfast. Both officers were attached to the Special Branch.
Superintendent Laird, his wife, their daughter Mary and Mrs Cecil Patterson, widow of Inspector Cecil Patterson who was shot by gunmen just over two months ago, were in the Laird residence when the explosion blasted in the front.
Seventeen-year-old Mary Laird had a narrow escape when she saw two men leave a package outside.
Discrimination Raised
THE fifteen months old Commissioner for Complaints Department was described as ‘useless’ at a trade union conference in Belfast.
The attack came from Mr Jack Hassard (Union of Post Office Workers) at the closing conference of the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
Mr Hassard asked what the Commissioner, Mr John Benn had actually done about maladministration.
He said that Mr Benn was empowered to hand matters over to the Attorney-General for prosecutions in court, but had not done so.
Mr Brendan Harkin (NI Civil Service Association) said the Department’s legislation was completely inadequate.
‘I have no doubt that until there is a law in NI outlawing discrimination and until there is machinery similar to that of the Race Relations Act, we will not be able to deal with the problem effectively.’
Paisley Denounced
THE Conference of European Churches in Nyborg, Denmark yesterday denounced the militant Protestant movement in Northern Ireland and its leader Rev Ian Paisley.
The Conference urged the Stormont Government to introduce a new social welfare legislation giving everybody full civil rights.
Meanwhile an appeal to the people of NI to uphold the ideals of freedom and shun all forms of bigotry and sectarianism is made by Mr William Blease, the NI officer of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) in his May Day message.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: Inexplicably, the vexed issue of discrimination in employment was not directly addressed in 1968’s civil rights reforms.
Despite trade unionists’ concerns, the issue was not effectively dealt with until 1989’s Fair Employment Act.)
On This Day – 3rd May 1971
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19710503
Reference Date
May 3, 2021
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice *
Summary: On This Day – 3rd May 1971, bomb attacks targeted homes of RUC officers in Belfast, while concerns over discrimination grew, and Ian Paisley was denounced internationally. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
RUC Men’s Homes Attacked | On This Day 3rd May 1971
FIVE explosions rocked Belfast late last night and early today, wrecking the homes of two senior RUC officers, badly damaging a downtown furniture store and causing slight damage to two other houses. The only casualty was Inspector Samuel Kyle who suffered slight facial injuries.
His wife was treated for shock. Two heavy charges of gelignite exploded almost simultaneously about 11.30 p.m. outside the homes of Superintendent Ross Laird and Inspector Kyle, about a mile apart in North Belfast. Both officers were attached to the Special Branch.
Superintendent Laird, his wife, their daughter Mary and Mrs Cecil Patterson, widow of Inspector Cecil Patterson who was shot by gunmen just over two months ago, were in the Laird residence when the explosion blasted in the front.
Seventeen-year-old Mary Laird had a narrow escape when she saw two men leave a package outside.
Discrimination Raised
THE fifteen months old Commissioner for Complaints Department was described as ‘useless’ at a trade union conference in Belfast.
The attack came from Mr Jack Hassard (Union of Post Office Workers) at the closing conference of the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
Mr Hassard asked what the Commissioner, Mr John Benn had actually done about maladministration.
He said that Mr Benn was empowered to hand matters over to the Attorney-General for prosecutions in court, but had not done so.
Mr Brendan Harkin (NI Civil Service Association) said the Department’s legislation was completely inadequate.
‘I have no doubt that until there is a law in NI outlawing discrimination and until there is machinery similar to that of the Race Relations Act, we will not be able to deal with the problem effectively.’
Paisley Denounced
THE Conference of European Churches in Nyborg, Denmark yesterday denounced the militant Protestant movement in Northern Ireland and its leader Rev Ian Paisley.
The Conference urged the Stormont Government to introduce a new social welfare legislation giving everybody full civil rights.
Meanwhile an appeal to the people of NI to uphold the ideals of freedom and shun all forms of bigotry and sectarianism is made by Mr William Blease, the NI officer of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) in his May Day message.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: Inexplicably, the vexed issue of discrimination in employment was not directly addressed in 1968’s civil rights reforms.
Despite trade unionists’ concerns, the issue was not effectively dealt with until 1989’s Fair Employment Act.)
On This Day – 3rd May 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.