The Society told the untold story of Murder in Ballymacarrett first. Now the Society has decided to tell the story about hundreds of Protestant children having to leave home due to a republican onslaught on Protestant communities throughout Belfast in their bid to force us out of interface areas.

In August 1971 following the introduction of internment the Provisional IRA launched a vicious attack on the security forces and our community. These were dark days for many Protestant families living close to interface areas; these were people who had harmed no-one, people who just wanted to get on with their daily lives and ensure that their children enjoyed their school holidays. This was not to be the case however as the IRA attacked all and sundry, homes were attacked with petrol bombs, streets raked with gunfire and property damaged on a daily basis.

Protestant women and children hid in their homes as the bullets bounced off the roofs, walls and streets of the streets in their area. Eventually due to the attacks church and assembly halls were opened to allow the vulnerable to take shelter in relative safety. Protestant women and children were traumatised by these sectarian attacks, which saw homes set alight, shops burned, cars set on fire and the men of the area were killed and injured as they defended their area or tried to salvage their property from the ruins of their homes.

The trauma that our community was going through did not go unnoticed. The good people of Liverpool began to mobilise their resources to take in women but mainly children from the devastated streets of Belfast. Protestant people from areas like Ardoyne, Oldpark, Newtownards Road and the Crumlin Road were organised into groups and sent to Liverpool on the ferry. There the people of Liverpool waited with food and homes. Safety was guaranteed, smiles returned to the faces of the children and scouse stew was the new meal introduced to the taste pallets of the evacuees. (Pictured above are 2 of the Liverpool evacuees whom came and visited the finished mural).

The Society has funded a mural that depicts this time in our history, which appears to have been forgotten or as some people would have you believe never actually happened. As the newspapers in the mural show the evacuation of Protestant women and children DID happen. The Society decided to have an opening night and provide entertainment for the local children of the area by bouncy castles etc, we where honoured with Fairhill Flute Band from North Belfast whom came and played a good selection of traditional Orange music prior to the unveiling of the mural to the many of hundreds of people who gathered for the event. Pictured below are some photographs of the nights events.

• Elsie Doyle and John Gunning (Pictured to the right) for their support.
• the residents of the area for their support during the erection of the mural.
• the man who made the mural happen – John Stewart (Pictured to the right). It is his creation and his undoubted talent that ensured we have a fitting tribute to these events.
• the people of Liverpool, without their support the evacuation of up to 2,000 people would not have been possible.

It is the intention of the Society to capture the events of August 1971 and record it in a book. To do this we need contributions from those involved. Please get in touch so we can hear your story of these events.

Below are photographs of the Mural.