'All the elements of a police state': John Montague's Ulster

A look at John Montague's short story, The Cry. Set in 1959 it offers an opportunity to examine Northern Irish policing practices during the 1950s and 60s. The impetus for Montague's story was his actual witnessing the assault of a young catholic man by members of the Ulster Special Constabulary (B Specials). As such, The Cry offers a window into catholic fatalism and apathy at a time when there was a furthering fracture of policing between political and conventional roles. The former encouraged and maintained by the, at the time, Unionist hegemony. As ever, included are a few anecdotes and incidents recalled from my service in the RUC.For anyone interested the BBC adaptation of The Cry is available to watch here. BibliographyMontague, John, Death of a Chieftain, Poolbeg Press, Dublin, 1978Farrell, Michael, Northern Ireland: The Orange State, Pluto, London, 1976Mr Nelson, Commons, Debates, August 21, 1951, col. 2071Mr McSparran, Commons, Debates, August 21, 1951, cols. 2088-2089Mr Diamond, Commons, Debates, May 6, 1952, col. 673Mr O'Connor, Commons, Debates, March 12, 1969, col. 309Mr McAteer, Commons, Debates, March 18, 1952, col. 366Hunt Committee, P. 19; P. 32Minister of Home Affairs Bates, Commons, Debates, April 10, 1930, col. 762; March 16, 1932, col. 371  Minister of Home Affairs Craig, Commons, Debates, December 12, 1963, cols. 1667- 1668; December 18, 1963, col. 1823Mr Fitt, Commons, Debates, March 27, 1968, col. 246Mr Hanna, Commons, Debates, May 20, 1936, col. 1704O'Connor, Fionnuala, In Search of a State: Catholics in Northern Ireland, Blackstaff Press, Belfast, 1993Purdie, Bob, Politics in the Streets: The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement in Northern Ireland, Blackstaff Press, Belfast, 1990        Click here if you’d like to send me a comment or question. Thank you.Support the showMédecins Sans FrontièresUnicefPEN International