Arnon Street killings

Although the Irish War of Independence officially ended in July 1921, the Irish Republican Army's conflict with British and Irish unionist forces continued in Northern Ireland and escalated in the first half of 1922. The Ulster IRA, with the tacit but covert assistance of Michael Collins (head of the new Irish Free State) continued to wage a guerrilla war in Northern Ireland. According to historian Alan Parkinson, despite "the IRA having some short term successes ... the main effect of this intensive campaign was to unleash a terrible backlash on the Catholic population in Belfast". Only a week before the Arnon Street incident, policemen – either Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) or Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) – had killed six Catholic civilians (the McMahon killings). On the evening of 1 April an RIC constable, named George Turner was patrolling the Old Lodge Road when he was killed by a sniper. The IRA denied any involvement in the killing of Constable Turner. ==The killings==

About ten police officers in Brown Square Barracks, upon hearing of Turner's murder, took a Lancia armoured car and went touring Catholic areas. When they dismounted their vehicle, witnesses heard them shouting "Cut the guts out of them for the murder of Turner". Their first victim was John McRory (40) who lived on Stanhope Street, just across the road from where Constable Turner had been shot. The police broke into his house and shot him dead in his kitchen. In Park Street, Bernard McKenna (42), father of seven, was killed while lying in bed. Finally, the police arrived at Arnon Street. William Spallen (70) lived at 16 Arnon Street and had just returned from the funeral of his wife. Tumelty said the killers then took £20 that his grandfather had to pay for his wife's funeral. Bridget was also injured in the attack, hit by a bullet that had passed through Joseph Walsh. Another son, Frank (14), was shot in the thigh but survived. A local man, George Murray, described the aftermath of the attack: "One of the three policemen had revolvers and the other two had guns. These men went out. Immediately after, seven armed men – five in police uniform and two in civilians clothes – entered". Later that evening, another Catholic, John Mallon (60), was shot dead in Skegoneill Avenue. ==Aftermath==

The Dublin-based Irish Independent wrote that "never even in the worst state of terror in the west and south has the state of affairs which now prevails in the Northern capital been experienced". Michael Collins sent an angry telegram to Northern Ireland Prime Minister James Craig, demanding a joint inquiry into the killings in accordance with Clause 5 of the recently signed Craig-Collins Pact. No such joint inquiry took place. As with the McMahon killings one week earlier, it was strongly suspected that an RIC Detective Inspector, John William Nixon, operating out of the Brown Street Police barracks, had organised the attack. Nixon and several other policemen failed to turn up at roll call at the barracks immediately after the killings. According to Irish historical writer Tim Pat Coogan, "in the atmosphere of the time neither Craig nor the British could or would prosecute or investigate such men without risk of a serious backlash amongst the Specials Special Constabulary". According to Parkinson, "the raw sectarianism of many violent acts during this period were not confined to large scale incidents such as the Arnon Street or the McMahon murders, nor indeed to any one political or religious group". For instance, the day before the Arnon Street killings, it is believed that Catholics were responsible for throwing a grenade through the window of the house of Protestant Francis Donnelly, killing his two-year-old son Frank and mortally wounding another son, Joseph (12). ==Notes==