Priest calls riot at Belfast march a step back for Northern Ireland

Published: 2004-07-14

DUBLIN, Ireland (CNS) -- The Protestant marching season in Northern Ireland turned violent July 12 when a riot by Catholic protesters resulted in injuries to 25 police officers. The incident occurred in the mostly Catholic neighborhood of Ardoyne in North Belfast. Catholic protesters clashed with police after members of the Protestant Orange Order and their supporters marched through the Catholic neighborhood. Police separated the marchers and protesters using 15-foot-high metal barricades. Protesters launched debris at the marchers as they passed through Ardoyne. The protesters turned their anger on police once the marchers departed. A priest in Northern Ireland said the violence "has put us back a long way." "It was very, very sad. It was terrible to see an outbreak of violence like that," Father Aidan Troy told Catholic News Service. Father Troy said he and other community leaders were at the scene of the July 12 disturbance trying to urge protesters to return to their homes.

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