Split in The IRA, Confrontation With The British Army
In September, McMillen called a meeting of IRA commanders in Belfast. Billy McKee and several other republicans arrived at the meeting armed and demanded McMillen's resignation. He refused, but many of those unhappy with his leadership broke away and refused to take orders from McMillen or the Dublin IRA leadership. Most of them joined the Provisional Irish Republican Army, when this group split off from the IRA in December 1969. McMillen himself remained loyal to the IRA's Dublin leadership, which became known as the Official IRA. The split rapidly developed into a bitter rivalry between the two groups.
In April 1970, McMillen was shot and wounded by Provisional IRA members in the Lower Falls area of Belfast.
In June 1970, McMillen's Official IRA had their first major confrontation with the British Army, which had been deployed to Belfast in the previous year, in an incident known as the Falls Curfew. The Army mounted an arms search in the Official IRA stronghold of the Lower Falls, where they were attacked with a grenade by Provisional IRA members. In response, the British flooded the area with troops and declared a curfew. This led to a three day gun battle between 80-90 Official IRA members led by MacMillen and up to 3000 British troops. Five civilians were killed in the fighting and about 60 wounded. In addition 35 rifles, 6 machine guns, 14 shotguns, grenades, explosives and 21,000 rounds of ammunition, all belonging to the OIRA, were seized. McMillen blamed the Provisionals for instigating the incident and then refusing to help the Officials against the British.
This ill-feeling eventually led to an all out feud between the republican factions in Belfast in March 1971. The Provisionals attempted to kill McMillen again, and his second in command Jim Sullivan. In retaliation, McMillen had Charlie Hughes, a young PIRA member killed and Tom Cahill, brother of leading Provisional Joe Cahill was also shot and wounded. After these deaths, the two IRA factions in Belfast negotiated a ceasefire and directed their attention instead at the British Army in the city.
Read more about this topic: Billy Mc Millen
Famous quotes containing the words split in, split, british and/or army:
“The Federated Republic of Europe—the United States of Europe—that is what must be. National autonomy no longer suffices. Economic evolution demands the abolition of national frontiers. If Europe is to remain split into national groups, then Imperialism will recommence its work. Only a Federated Republic of Europe can give peace to the world.”
—Leon Trotsky (1879–1940)
“Would you convey my compliments to the purist who reads your proofs and tell him or her that I write in a sort of broken-down patois which is something like the way a Swiss waiter talks, and that when I split an infinitive, God damn it, I split it so it will stay split, and when I interrupt the velvety smoothness of my more or less literate syntax with a few sudden words of bar- room vernacular, that is done with the eyes wide open and the mind relaxed but attentive.”
—Raymond Chandler (1888–1959)
“Anthropology is the science which tells us that people are the same the whole world over—except when they are different.”
—Nancy Banks-Smith, British columnist. Quoted in Guardian (London, July 21, 1988)
“It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for the purposes of spying, and thereby they achieve great results.”
—Sun Tzu (6–5th century B.C.)