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Holy Cross 10 anni dopo

Holy Cross, ten years on

It is ten years since the start of the Holy Cross dispute in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast which saw children caught up in one of the worst episodes in Northern Ireland’s recent history, including the throwing of a blast bomb.

Holy Cross, Ardoyne, 2001The sectarian dispute between parents and pupils of Holy Cross Primary School in Ardoyne and the Protestant Glenbryn estate residents lasted for 14 weeks, escalating in the summer and autumn of 2011.

During the stand-off, hundreds of riot police officers were deployed to escort children through picket lines.

The political landscape in Northern Ireland has changed enormously in the last ten years. And a decade on, former Holy Cross pupils say lessons have been learnt.

Tania Lavery, who was seven when she walked through the protest every day with her mother, said: “I remember being spat in the face, and holding a policeman’s hand on the way to school. I remember the day a blast bomb was thrown and everyone started running – that was the scariest day.”

Now 17, Tania said she cannot forget the dispute.

“I can’t pretend it never happened, but I’d like to forget everything I heard people saying, and what made me think a certain type of person was the wrong type of person,” said Tania. “It’s influenced me to have friends from every possible background.”

“I always think of it as learning from other people’s mistakes,” she added.

The protests began because of a dispute over flags, and during the stand-off the world media watched as the events unfolded.

Parish priest Father Aidan Troy was chairman of the Board of Governors at Holy Cross Primary during the row.

Padre Aidan Troy“Even ten years later, I find it very hard to even find the language to describe what happened,” he said. “The memories are still there, of just how raw it was and how awful it was on each side.

“You never knew what was going to happen over the weekend and then you had Monday morning to face again, and I personally always felt more of a failure on a Friday than on any other day of the week.”

Father Gary Donegan had been at the parish of Holy Cross for six months when the trouble began. He said Catholic families felt they were not a priority for politicians at the time.

“We felt at the time there were people in government who could have done more, but the situation was very fragile in Stormont and the most important thing was to protect the situation there than what was happening in north Belfast.”

But Father Donegan says the Holy Cross dispute has had a lasting legacy for people in the area.

La disputa della Holy Cross, Ardoyne 2001

“We were in a different place and I think that people here have moved on. The focus now in north Belfast is the provision for education and all these things have legacies.”

UTV tried to talk with some of those involved with the Glenbryn residents at the time, but all declined to be interviewed.

Holy Cross legacy

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René Querin

Di professione grafico e web designer, sono appassionato di trekking e innamorato dell'Irlanda e della sua storia. Insieme ad Andrea Varacalli ho creato e gestisco Les Enfants Terribles.

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