"In the late 1990s, I was beaten off a road by the RUC while protesting about an Apprentice Boys march and ended up in hospital. During the same period, I travelled regularly to the Garvaghy Road. I also protested at a section of an Orange march that went past Ardoyne, a nationalist north Belfast enclave, where some of my family lived."
"It was an ugly time, when sectarianism swirled around us, hanging heavy in the air. My opposition was perhaps not surprising, given my family's background. My uncle Joe founded the Provisional IRA. My great-uncle George cycled to fight in the Rising and ended up in Wormwood Scrubs on hunger strike during the War of Independence."
A person was beaten off a road by the RUC while protesting an Apprentice Boys march and ended up in hospital. The same period involved regular travel to the Garvaghy Road and participation in protests at an Orange march that passed Ardoyne, a nationalist north Belfast enclave where some family lived. Sectarianism pervaded the environment, creating an ugly atmosphere and informing opposition to the marches. Family history included an uncle who founded the Provisional IRA and a great-uncle who cycled to fight in the Rising and later endured a hunger strike in Wormwood Scrubs during the War of Independence.
Read at Independent
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