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The Holy Cross dispute occurred in 2001 and 2002 in the
Ardoyne Ardoyne () is a working class and mainly Roman Catholic Church, Catholic and Irish republicanism, Irish republican district in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 1920 the adjacent area of Marrowbone saw at multiple days of communal violence be ...
area of north
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
. During the 30-year conflict known as
the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
, Ardoyne had become segregated –
Ulster Protestants Ulster Protestants are an ethnoreligious group in the Provinces of Ireland, Irish province of Ulster, where they make up about 43.5% of the population. Most Ulster Protestantism in Ireland, Protestants are descendants of settlers who arrived fr ...
and
Irish Catholic Irish Catholics () are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland, defined by their adherence to Catholic Christianity and their shared Irish ethnic, linguistic, and cultural heritage.The term distinguishes Catholics of Irish descent, particul ...
s lived in separate areas. This left Holy Cross, a Catholic primary school for girls, in the middle of a Protestant area. In June 2001during the last week of school before the summer breakProtestant
loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
began
picketing Picketing is a form of protest in which people (called pickets or picketers) congregate outside a place of work or location where an event is taking place. Often, this is done in an attempt to dissuade others from going in (" crossing the pi ...
the school, claiming that Catholics were regularly attacking their homes and denying them access to facilities. The picket resumed on 3 September, when the new school term began. For weeks, hundreds of loyalist protesters tried to stop the schoolchildren and their parents from walking to school through their area. Hundreds of
riot police Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots. Riot police may be regular police officers who act in the role of riot police in particular situations, or they may be separate unit ...
, backed up by
British soldiers The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
, escorted the children and parents through the protest each day. Some protesters shouted
sectarian Sectarianism is a debated concept. Some scholars and journalists define it as pre-existing fixed communal categories in society, and use it to explain political, cultural, or religious conflicts between groups. Others conceive of sectarianism a ...
abuse and threw stones, bricks, fireworks,
blast bomb An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...
s and urine-filled balloons at the schoolchildren, their parents and the RUC. The "scenes of frightened Catholic schoolgirls running a gauntlet of abuse from loyalist protesters as they walked to school captured world headlines".Heatley, Colm
''Interface, Flashpoints in Northern Ireland''. Chapter 1: Alliance Avenue and Holy Cross Dispute
Conflict Archive on the Internet CAIN (Conflict Archive on the Internet) is a database containing information about conflict and politics in Northern Ireland from 1968 to the present. The project began in 1996, with the website launching in 1997. The project is based within U ...
(CAIN)
Death threats were made against the parents and school staff by the
Red Hand Defenders The Red Hand Defenders (RHD) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in 1998 by loyalists who opposed the Belfast Agreement and the loyalist ceasefires.child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...
and compared the protesters to North American
white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...
s in the 1950s. During this time, the protest sparked bouts of fierce rioting between Catholics and Protestants in Ardoyne, and loyalist attacks on police. On 23 November, the loyalists ended the protest after being promised tighter security for their area and a redevelopment scheme. The security forces remained outside the school for several months after. In January 2002, a scuffle between a Protestant and a Catholic outside the school sparked a large-scale riot in the area and attacks on other schools in north Belfast. The picket was not resumed and the situation has been mostly quiet since then. The following year, the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
aired a documentary-drama about the protests.


Beginning

Holy Cross is a girls-only Catholic primary school in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast. Ardoyne was one of the most deprived areas of Northern Ireland.http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/globalassets/Documents/RaISe/knowledge_exchange/presentations/series3/gaffikinppt241013.pdf Changing population in Belfast. Prof. Frank Gaffikin.
Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...
Before the outbreak of
the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
in the late 1960s, the area was "mixed", with Catholics and Protestants living alongside each other. However, after violence broke out between the two communities, the area became segregated. The area to the south of Alliance Avenue became almost wholly populated by Catholics (who were mostly
Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...
and republican) while the area to the north (known as Glenbryn) became wholly populated by Protestants (who were mostly British unionist and
loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
). This left Holy Cross in the middle of a Protestant area and some of the schoolchildren had to walk through it to get to school. A
wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...
(known as a " peace line") was built to separate the two communities. During the Troubles, almost 20 people were killed near the peace line by loyalists, republicans and the British Army. In the mid-1990s, the
Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
(IRA) and the main loyalist paramilitary groupsthe
Ulster Defence Association The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and undertook an armed campaign of almost 24 years as one of t ...
(UDA) and
Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group based in Northern Ireland. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former Royal Ulster Rifles soldier from North ...
(UVF)declared
ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce), also spelled cease-fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may b ...
s. In 1998, the
Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...
was signed, which set up a government in which Irish nationalists/republicans and British unionists/loyalists were to share power. However, the political situation remained tense. So-called
dissident republicans Dissident republicans () are Irish republicans who do not support the Northern Ireland peace process. The peace agreements followed a 30-year conflict known as the Troubles, in which over 3,500 people were killed and 47,500 injured, and in which ...
and dissident loyalists continued to wage small-scale violent campaigns. In December 2000, Protestant taxi driver Trevor Kell was shot dead in Ardoyne. The IRA were suspected of involvement as forensic evidence linked the gun with an IRA shooting in 1997. This would make it the first sectarian killing for almost two years. The next day, loyalists retaliated by shooting dead Catholic man Gary Moore as he was renovating a house in
Newtownabbey Newtownabbey ( ) is a large settlement north of Belfast city centre in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is separated from the rest of the city by Cavehill and Fortwilliam golf course, but it still forms part of the Belfast metropolitan area ...
. Later, the IRA was blamed for the " punishment shooting" of two men, one of whom is believed to have been questioned over Kell's death."Ardoyne stories: Behind nationalist lines"
BBC News, 4 September 2001. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
The protesters claimed their homes were being regularly attacked by Catholics and that they were being denied access to facilities in the Catholic area, such as shops and playgrounds. Catholics claimed that their homes were also regularly attacked. The Protestant population of Glenbryn had dropped significantly since the ceasefires and some Protestants believed they were being driven out. Other protesters alleged that IRA members were using the children's journey to-and-from school to gather intelligence. Anne Bill, a community worker who was centrally involved in the protest, said "Protestants felt they weren't getting a fair deal under the Good Friday Agreement. People in Glenbryn kept telling the Government about attacks on their houses and how vulnerable they felt but we weren't being listened to. That is why people protested on the Ardoyne Road, the focus wasn't so much the school itself ..The community in Glenbryn is in decline and it is fearful of Ardoyne. That does encourage a siege mentality". Tension built and youths from both communities raised more and more flags along Ardoyne Road. On 19 June, a fight broke out between men putting up loyalist paramilitary flags and the occupants of a passing car. Loyalists allege that the car from republican Ardoyne estate rammed the ladder and knocked the two men off. How the episode started remains disputed."Holy Cross school, Belfast: two years on"
Beatrix Campbell, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', 1 December 2003. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
In the summer of 2001, the RUC received intelligence that UDA members were planning to "exploit community tensions" to kill Irish nationalists, Catholics and/or police officers.


Summer 2001

On Tuesday 19 June, Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers had to protect children and parents entering the school after they were attacked by loyalist stone throwers. Police described the attack as "vicious". Following the incident, a blockade of the school developed, with loyalists standing across the road and RUC officers keeping the children and their parents away.A Chronology of the Conflict: 2001
Conflict Archive on the Internet CAIN (Conflict Archive on the Internet) is a database containing information about conflict and politics in Northern Ireland from 1968 to the present. The project began in 1996, with the website launching in 1997. The project is based within U ...
(CAIN)
The following day, the school was forced to close when loyalists blocked the entrance. During the evening, hundreds of loyalists and nationalists (up to 600) clashed with each other and with the police. Shots were also fired at the police and over 100 petrol bombs were thrown. During the riots the police fired a number of the new 'L21 A1' plastic baton rounds for the first time. 39 RUC officers were injured. Nine shots in total were fired – six from loyalists and three from republicans. The trouble came after an explosion at the rear of Catholic homes next to a peace line. Both loyalist and nationalist politicians blamed each other for the violence. This would be the first of many large riots to take place in Belfast within more than a year. The morning blockade continued on Thursday 21 June. About 60 of the school's 230 pupils entered the school through the grounds of another school. Senior
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
member
Gerry Kelly Gerard Kelly (; born 5 April 1953) is an Irish republican politician and former Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) volunteer who played a leading role in the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement on 10 April 1998. He is cur ...
said: "It's like something out of
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
in the 1960s". Three Protestant families left their homes in Ardoyne Avenue, saying they were afraid of a nationalist attack. During the evening and night there were serious disturbances in the area around the school. Loyalists fired ten shots, and threw six blast bombs and 46 petrol bombs at police lines. Two Catholic homes were attacked with pipe bombs, and a child was thrown against a wall by one of the blasts. 24 RUC officers were hurt. On Friday 22 June, a number of schoolchildren again had to enter the school through the grounds of another school. This was the last day of school before the summer break. Talks between the protesters and the schoolchildren's parents took place over the summer, but no agreement was reached. On 20 August, a 'paint bomb' was thrown at the home of a Protestant man in Hesketh Park, smashing a window and causing paint damage to furniture. The man had taken part in the loyalist protest.


Autumn 2001

The protest resumed on Monday 3 September, the first day of the Autumn school term. The RUC, supported by the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
, were by then better prepared and managed to force a path through the protesters. Loyalists jeered and shouted sectarian abuse as the children, some as young as four, were escorted into the school by their parents and the police. Stones and bottles were thrown at the children and their parents; one woman was injured. A mother of one of the schoolgirls said: "It was absolutely terrifying. They were shouting 'dirty tramps', 'your kids are animals', '
Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood. They were secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...
scum', 'you Fenian bastards'. And all we were trying to do was get our kids to school". Unionist politicians claimed a "heavy-handed" police presence had inflamed the situation, while the
Progressive Unionist Party The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) is a minor unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It was formed from the Independent Unionist Group operating in the Shankill area of Belfast, becoming the PUP in 1979. Linked to the Ulster Volunte ...
's
Billy Hutchinson Billy "Hutchie" Hutchinson (born December 1955) is a Northern Irish Ulster Loyalist politician and activist who served as leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) from 2011 to 2023, now serving as party president. He was a Belfast Cit ...
alleged that five known IRA men had been allowed to walk with the children through the Protestant area. Later in the day the
Red Hand Defenders The Red Hand Defenders (RHD) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in 1998 by loyalists who opposed the Belfast Agreement and the loyalist ceasefires.pipe bomb A pipe bomb is an improvised explosive device (IED) that uses a tightly sealed section of pipe filled with an explosive material. The containment provided by the pipe means that simple low explosives can be used to produce a relatively larg ...
attack. The blast caused an oil tank to catch fire and the flames spread to three houses, one of which was completely destroyed. Another pipe bomb exploded in the garden of a house in the White City area. There was also violence on North Queen Street and Limestone Road. The following is a timeline of the major events during the Autumn protest. ;Week one *Tuesday 4 September: Loyalist protesters tried to block access to the school, but riot police forced a path through the protesters and lined the road with armoured vehicles, creating a cordon for the children and parents to walk through. Loyalists attacked riot police with a
blast bomb An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...
(an improvised grenade), injuring one officer. As the children and parents made their way through the cordon, loyalist protesters shouted abuse and threw stones at them. Some of the children were forced to turn back. There was more rioting near the school during the evening and night. A crowd of loyalists attacked police with bricks, bottles, stones, fireworks, ballbearings and blast bombs. A volley of shots was also heard in the Glenbryn estate. Police figures stated that 41 police officers and two soldiers had been injured, fifteen blast bombs and 250 petrol bombs had been thrown, and four civilian cars had been damaged. *Wednesday 5 September: As the parents and their children passed Glenbryn Parade, loyalists threw a blast bomb towards them. The device exploded, injuring four police officers and a police dog. Panic ensued. Children began screaming and "weeping uncontrollably" and one mother suffered a panic attack. All were taken to hospital. The Red Hand Defenders (RHD) said it was responsible for the attack. Afterward, Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) politician Billy Hutchinson said he was "ashamed to be a loyalist today after seeing these people attack young Catholic girls". However, he says he continued to stand with the protesters each morning to show leadership. John Reid, the British
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The secretary of state for Northern Ireland (; ), also referred to as Northern Ireland Secretary or SoSNI, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the Northern Ireland Office. The offi ...
, called the attack "barbaric" and called for the protest to end immediately. *Thursday 6 September: The protest was peaceful but very noisy as protesters used air horns (klaxons), blew whistles, and banged metal bin lids as the children passed through the security cordon. Four parents in the 'Right to Education' group were notified that death threats had been made against them by the RHD, who said they would be killed if they were seen taking their children to the school. John Reid, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, cut short his holiday and returned to Northern Ireland because of the situation. *Friday 7 September: Loyalists held a silent protest as children and parents passed through the security cordon. The silent protest was a mark of respect for Thomas McDonald (16), a Protestant killed in a
hit-and-run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the criminal act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there ma ...
incident after he had attacked a car with bricks and stones in another part of north Belfast on Tuesday. Catholic parents also held a minute's silence before beginning their walk to the school. Inside the school grounds, prayers involving clergymen from both denominations were said. ;Week two *Monday 10 September: The protesters were quiet as the children and their parents passed, but when the parents returned home the protesters used air horns (klaxons), blew whistles, and banged metal bin lids. Some of the protesters shouted "
Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood. They were secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...
scum" at the parents. In London, Richard Haass, the United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, discussed the protest with John Reid. Senior Sinn Féin member
Gerry Kelly Gerard Kelly (; born 5 April 1953) is an Irish republican politician and former Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) volunteer who played a leading role in the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement on 10 April 1998. He is cur ...
introduced a private members' motion in the
Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...
, proposing that "the Assembly supports the right to education of children attending the Holy Cross Primary School in north Belfast". Unionist members proposed an amendment to the motion to make it apply to all schools in the area. The Assembly passed the amended motion. *Tuesday 11 September: The protest followed the pattern of yesterday. Father
Aidan Troy Fr. Aidan Troy is an Irish Catholic priest who has served in Rome, Ardoyne in Northern Ireland, and Paris. He is a member of the Passionist order. Early life He was born in Bray, County Wicklow in 1946. His father worked on the railways and his ...
, Chairman of the school's Board of Governors, together with a local Protestant clergyman, held a meeting with representatives of the Concerned Residents of Upper Ardoyne (CRUA) who were organising the protest. John Reid also held a meeting with the representatives. Fr Troy said of the protest: "I really found it hard to comprehend the hatred that was shown to the school girls ... I walked with them and because of that I was spat on by the protesters. They held up posters accusing me of being a paedophile and they showed the children pornographic images. The intensity of the protest was hard to comprehend; I don't think people can really understand that from watching it on television". *Wednesday 12 September: The protest followed the pattern of Monday and Tuesday. However, before going to the school the children and parents held a prayer service and a minute's silence for the victims of the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
. On Friday, the protesters halted their protest for one day as a mark of respect for the victims of the attacks. ;Week three *Thursday 20 September: Protesters reverted to the earlier tactic of making a lot of noise as the children passed. Six men appeared before Belfast Magistrates Court on public order offences related to the school protest. The six men were remanded on bail but told not to take part in the protest. As a result of the arrests, the group representing the protesters, CRUA, announced that it had "suspended all business until further notice". ;Week four *Wednesday 26 September: Protesters threw fireworks at children and parents returning from the school during the afternoon. That evening, a loyalist protest which blocked the nearby
Crumlin Road The Crumlin Road is a main road in north-west Belfast, Northern Ireland. The road runs from north of Belfast City Centre for about four miles to the outskirts of the city. It also forms part of the longer A52 road which leads out of Belfast to th ...
turned into a riot. Police said they moved to protect Catholic homes from loyalists and were attacked by gunfire, pipe bombs and petrol bombs. They responded with plastic bullets, and 33 officers were injured. There was further violence in the area the following night, and police came under fire from loyalists on Cambrai Street. Thirteen officers were injured in the violence and a woman was shot in the leg. ;Week five *Monday 1 October: Protesters continued their noisy protest as children and parents entered and left the school. Some protesters threw
urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and many other animals. In placental mammals, urine flows from the Kidney (vertebrates), kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder and exits the urethra through the penile meatus (mal ...
-filled balloons at the children and parents. Cups of cold tea and water were also thrown by protesters.
Reg Empey Reginald Norman Morgan Empey, Baron Empey, (born 26 October 1947), best known as Reg Empey, is a Northern Irish politician who served as the acting First Minister of Northern Ireland in 2001. He was the Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, lea ...
(
Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...
), then Acting First Minister of Northern Ireland, and Seamus Mallon (
Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP; ) is a social democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland Assembly ( MLAs) and two members of Parliament (M ...
), then Acting Deputy First Minister, met with local representatives to discuss the situation. Empy said there was no excuse for the ongoing protest. *Tuesday 2 October: British
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
MP
Quentin Davies John Quentin Davies, Baron Davies of Stamford (29 May 1944 – 13 January 2025) was a British Labour politician and life peer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Grantham and Stamford from 1987 to 2010. He served as a junior defe ...
, then
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland is a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), British Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, secretary of state for ...
, accompanied parents and children as they returned home through the protest. Davies called the protest "utterly unacceptable". ;Week six *Tuesday 9 October: Aidan Troy, chairman of the school's Board of Governors, said he was considering taking legal action to try to end the protest. He said: "The weeks of suffering for these small girls were never justified ... This is no longer a legitimate protest; it is a form of
child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...
". The cost of policing the protest was reported as having reached £1 million. *Wednesday 10 October: Many of the protesters had begun to hide their identity and some were wearing masks of characters from
horror movies Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...
. Local doctor Michael Tan said that some of the schoolchildren's families were near "breaking point" and parents and children were in need of professional psychological care. Brice Dickson, head of the
Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) is a non-departmental public body funded through the Northern Ireland Office but operating independently of government as the national human rights institution (NHRI) for Northern Ireland. It c ...
, visited the scene of the protest. He spoke to some of the protesters but was criticised by some of the parents of the children for not walking the route with them as Quentin Davies had done. One of the protesters displayed a threatening letter allegedly sent by a group called the "Catholic Reaction Force". Meanwhile, it was announced that the security wall between the loyalist and nationalist areas would be extended. ;Week seven *Monday 15 October: Brice Dickson again visited the protest and called for it to end. He said "The treatment of these children is inhumane and their right to effective education is being affected". Protestant parents in north and west Belfast said that there had been rising attacks on buses carrying Protestant schoolchildren. *Wednesday 17 October: As children and parents were returning home from the school, a loyalist bomb exploded at the back of a house on Alliance Avenue. No one was injured but the householder, and a number of parents and children, were described as being "in shock". ;Week eight *Wednesday 24 October: There were disturbances on the Crumlin Road, not far from the school. Loyalists blocked the main road at about 4:30PM, stopping Catholic schoolchildren from getting home. Catholic families arrived to try to escort their children home. Bricks and bottles were thrown by both groups and police moved in to keep the sides apart. The Crumlin Road is the 'alternative' route that loyalists want the Holy Cross children and their parents to use when going to and from the school. *Friday 26 October: Two people were arrested during the protest outside the school. Loyalists had tried to block the road and stop children parents from getting to the school. That night, loyalists threw a pipe bomb at a group of soldiers and police on the road, badly wounding a soldier and injuring several officers. The school was closed the following week after
Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
. ;Week nine *Monday 5 November: Protesters said they had reached an "understanding" with the
Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it ...
(the former RUC, now renamed) over the weekend. As a result, the police were not wearing full riot gear when the protest took place. *Wednesday 7 November: The mother of a child attending the school began legal proceedings against John Reid and the police. The mother said that police had not given enough protection to her daughter and had failed to identify, arrest, or prosecute protesters who broke the law in full public view. While on a visit to Northern Ireland, Archbishop
Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...
met some of the schoolchildren and their parents. Tutu also met some of those involved in the protest. *Friday 9 November: The protest was halted for one day. Some of the schoolchildren sat their "11-plus" exams.
Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...
, then
President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...
, called for an end to the protest. ;Week ten *Monday 12 November: There was a change in the policing tactics used at the protest. Instead of gathering together all the Catholic parents and children and escorting them to the school as a group, the police specified a time period in which parents could walk to the school. About 400 police officers (an eighth of the total in Belfast) were there to ensure that the children could get to school. The day's operation cost an estimated £100,000. Some Catholic parents complained that the new police tactics left them more exposed to the protesters. Police arrested a nationalist who was taking a video of the protesters. ;Week eleven *Monday 19 November: The media reported that the father of one of the schoolgirls had begun a
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...
. The man said that he felt so frustrated by the protest that he was refusing food in an attempt to end the blockade. It was also revealed that a split had occurred in CRUA, the protest group. It was reported that as many as five of its committee members may have resigned. They are believed to include spokesmen Stuart McCartney and Jim Potts. *Tuesday 20 November: The Belfast Education and Library Board (BELB) provided two buses for those schoolchildren and parents who wished to use them to get through the protest. However, most of them made their way to the school on foot. *Thursday 22 November:
David Trimble William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, (15 October 1944 – 25 July 2022) was a Northern Irish politician who was the inaugural First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002 and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 20 ...
(UUP), then First Minister, and Mark Durkan (SDLP), then Deputy First Minister, held a meeting with the protest group. Before calling an end to the protest the protesters asked for
CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...
to be introduced, along with road-calming measures, and tighter security in the area. *Friday 23 November: In the afternoon there was a rally in the middle of Belfast in support of the schoolchildren. About 500 people attended. In the evening the protest group held a meeting and announced that the protest would be "suspended". For months after the protest ended, police and British Army armoured vehicles sat outside the school and at the junction of Alliance Avenue each day. However, eventually parents were able to walk their children to school without a police and Army escort.


January 2002

On Wednesday 9 January 2002, there were confrontations outside the school during the early afternoon. Disturbances and rioting quickly spread throughout Ardoyne during the evening and into the night. Catholic parents and Protestant residents each claimed that the other side had started the trouble. Catholic parents said that they had faced increased verbal abuse since Monday during their walks to and from school and that they were attacked while leaving the school on Wednesday afternoon. A Catholic mother claimed she was punched in the face as she walked home from the school with her child. Police officers said they arrived at a confrontation between a Protestant woman and a Catholic woman near the school. The police moved to make an arrest but the person was protected by other residents. Police officers said they had to draw their weapons. There was a report that loyalists had driven a car at the school gates in an attempt to break in. Some schoolchildren had to be taken home through the grounds of another school while a bus carrying other children was attacked on its way down Ardoyne Road. Protestant residents claimed the trouble started when Catholics removed a wreath from a lamp-post.A Chronology of the Conflict: 2002
Conflict Archive on the Internet CAIN (Conflict Archive on the Internet) is a database containing information about conflict and politics in Northern Ireland from 1968 to the present. The project began in 1996, with the website launching in 1997. The project is based within U ...
(CAIN)
Up to 500 loyalists and nationalists were involved in the disturbances on the Ardoyne Road, Crumlin Road and Brompton Park areas. About 130 petrol bombs, acid bombs and fireworks were thrown. Four Catholic youths were hospitalised after being hit by shotgun pellets at Hesketh Park; loyalists petrol-bombed and destroyed a police vehicle; Catholic homes were attacked on the Upper Crumlin Road; a Catholic woman was knocked-down by a car on Twaddell Avenue; a Catholic man was struck by a police vehicle, and a 13-year-old Protestant schoolboy was injured when a bus was attacked. The police fired eight plastic bullets and arrested three people. As the trouble worsened, 200 police officers, backed by 200 soldiers, were deployed. At least 14 police officers were injured. The following day, the Holy Cross school was forced to close for the day. Some other schools in the area closed early due to fears about the safety of schoolchildren. In the morning, six loyalists, one with a gun, rampaged through the grounds of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic girls' secondary school, smashing 18 cars with crowbars. Parents rushed to collect their daughters. In the afternoon, Protestant pupils from Boys' Model Secondary School were ferried home in police armoured Land Rovers past nationalist crowds on Crumlin Road. Catholic parents and Protestant residents held separate meetings to discuss the situation. On Friday 11 January, the Red Hand Defenders issued a death threat against all Catholic teachers and all other staff working at Catholic schools in north Belfast. That weekend, two Catholic schools were set on fire and teachers' cars were attacked. On Monday, more than 750 armed police officers and soldiers were sent to guard Catholic schools in north Belfast while armoured vehicles lined Ardoyne Road. There was no protest outside the school and there was no serious violence, although there were a few minor scuffles. The
Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; , Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for handling Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of S ...
announced that permanent CCTV cameras would be installed on the Ardoyne Road. A temporary system was to be put in place while waiting for the permanent installation. In February 2002, Holy Cross schoolchildren travelled to
County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...
for a free holiday as guests of Peacock's Hotel. The owners of the hotel had made the offer of the holiday following the 2001 protests. Twenty of the schoolchildren also met
Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008. A Teachta Dála (TD) from 1977 to 2011, he served ...
, then
Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
, during a short visit to Dublin. Ahern said it would show support for the children from the people of the Republic. In June, James Adairbrother of UDA leader
Johnny Adair John Adair (born 27 October 1963), better known as Johnny Adair or Mad Dog Adair, is a Northern Irish loyalist and the former leader of the "C Company", 2nd Battalion Shankill Road, West Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF). Th ...
was jailed for six months for riotous behaviour and given a concurrent sentence of four months for obstructing police during the riots.


Aftermath

The Holy Cross protest was said to have heightened sectarian tensions in Northern Ireland in a way not seen since the Drumcree dispute in the mid-1990s. PUP politician Billy Hutchinson said "The protest was a disaster in terms of putting their cause forward but it was a genuine expression of their anger and frustration and fear over what is happening in that part of North Belfast". A month before the protest was ended the Department of Social Development announced a housing redevelopment package for Glenbryn. This angered some Catholics and nationalists, particularly in north Belfast, where almost 80% of those on the housing waiting list were Catholics. They saw the package as a "buy-off" for Glenbryn residents. Ardoyne Sinn Féin councillor Margaret McClenaghan says the common perception was that loyalists were being rewarded for intimidating schoolgirls. However, one Protestant community activist said "There is no victory for our area despite all the hype. It is actually a strategy of social political engineering between the NlO and the Housing Executive, to solve the issue of interface tension". He explained that 186 houses would be demolished and that only about 20% would be replaced. This, he said, would mean a shrinking of the Protestant population in Glenbryn. During the protest, a number of schoolchildren were moved to other schools. Applications for enrolment at Holy Cross had dropped by almost half. Since the end of the protest, steps have been taken to heal relations. The North Belfast Community Action Unit was set up to foster inter-community talks, focusing on social and economic issues of interest to Ardoyne and Glenbryn. Nevertheless, community workers from both sides admit progress has been slow. In December 2024 papers declassified under the
thirty-year rule The thirty-year rule (an informal term) is a rule in the laws of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and the Commonwealth of Australia that provide that certain government documents will be released publicly thirty years after they were c ...
revealed that the government of the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
had offered Fr Aiden Troy the use of a flat leased by the
Department of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...
in Belfast after he received death threats. He declined the offer as he didn't want to leave Ardoyne and feared that drawing publicity to the threats would have an adverse effect on the children.


Effect on the schoolchildren

Brendan Bradley, head of the Survivors of Trauma group (which deals with victims of Troubles-related violence), said that the trauma experienced by the children was "almost without parallel" in the history of the Troubles:
It wasn't as though this abuse lasted for a couple of days or was a one-off; it went on for months. Many needed counselling, some long-term counselling, in the wake of it all. Parents told how their daughters had changed from being fun-loving to being very withdrawn.
Fr Aidan Troy said that some of the schoolgirls had been "put on heavy tranquillizers such as diazepam ... because of the trauma they were experiencing". Parents spoke of how their children had been wetting the bed and had started to throw tantrums and become withdrawn. When Holy Cross teachers asked girls in Primary 6 (aged 9–10) to draw a picture many had drawn mothers and fathers crying, surrounded by people with angry faces.


Later incidents

In 2003, Loyalists placed a pipe bomb at the entrance of the school, it was defused and there were no injuries. In 2003, a
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
televised drama called ''Holy Cross'' was made about the dispute, though it was filmed in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
."Holy Cross dispute in BBC film drama"
, Marie Louise McCrory, ''
The Irish News ''The Irish News'' is a Compact (newspaper), compact daily newspaper based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's largest-selling morning newspaper and is available throughout Ireland. It is broadly Irish nationalist in its viewp ...
'', 25 June 2003. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
"Belfast priest protests at BBC re-enactment of sectarian hatred outside Holy Cross school"
Ian Burrell, ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', 6 November 2003. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
Fr Aidan Troy, head of the board of governors of the school, expressed concern that the drama could reignite the problem. The film was produced by
BBC Northern Ireland BBC Northern Ireland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. BBC Northern Ireland is one of the four BB ...
in association with
RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
. Although based on the events which occurred, it was somewhat fictionalised, and told through the eyes of two families on opposite sides of the divide. The film stars
Zara Turner Zara Turner is an actress from Northern Ireland. Acting career Turner appeared alongside Gwyneth Paltrow and John Hannah in the 1998 romantic drama film ''Sliding Doors'', and as Dr. Angela Moloney (again with John Hannah) in the television s ...
and
Bronagh Gallagher Bronagh Gallagher (born 26 April 1972) is an Irish singer and actress from Northern Ireland. She had her first acting role in the 1989 television movie '' Dear Sarah''. In 2020, she was listed at number 33 on ''The Irish Times'' list of Irela ...
, and broadcast on
RTÉ One RTÉ One is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by RTÉ. It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís Éireann'' on 31 December 1961, it was renamed ''R ...
on 8 November 2003, and on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
on 10 November 2003. In April 2013, loyalists erected
Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...
s and loyalist flags outside the school and painted the kerbstones at its entrance red, white and blue. On 25 April the
Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it ...
(PSNI) were called to the school to disperse a loyalist protest being held outside it. The protest was sparked by false rumours on social networks that
Belfast City Council Belfast City Council () is the Local government in Northern Ireland, local authority with responsibility for part of Belfast, the largest city of Northern Ireland. The council serves an estimated population of (), the largest of any district c ...
employees were due to arrive to remove the flags and the paint. In the early hours of Sunday 23 April 2017, a bomb was found by a police patrol outside the gates of Holy Cross Boys' Primary School in Ardoyne. The police said the bomb was "significant in terms of its ndisclosedshape", and that police on foot patrol were the likely target. A sense of outrage was reported in the area.


References


External links


BBC Q & A on the Holy Cross dispute




{{coord, 54, 37, 12, N, 5, 58, 08, W, region:GB-BFS_type:event_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title 2001 in Northern Ireland 2002 in Northern Ireland 2000s in County Antrim 21st century in Belfast Anti-Catholicism in Northern Ireland Attacks on schools in the United Kingdom Crime in Belfast Education in Northern Ireland Ulster loyalism Protests in Northern Ireland Riots and civil disorder in Northern Ireland Sectarian violence The Troubles in Belfast Attacks on buildings and structures in Belfast