Arnon St Affair

Introduction from Chronology

Two Special Constables in plains cloths are attacked on Short Strand, Belfast resulting in the death of one (S/Con Thomas Hall). 

In retaliation, a Catholic area of Belfast (Stanhope St. and Arnon St.) is raided by Crown Forces. This results in five deaths (an old man, a sailor home on leave, a man named Walsh and his 7-year old son).  Phoenix says five Catholics are killed.  This atrocity became known as the Arnon St Affair and police involvement in the murders was strongly suspected. 

More Detail

Parksinson and McDermott say that the ‘Arnon St Affair’ arose from the killing of Constable Turner – see Apr-03-22/1.   Parkinson also says that following this killing, RIC men from his Brown Square barracks charged up Stanhope St. to the site of the killing and entered the home of 40-year-old John McRory (or Joseph McCrory) and shot him dead in his kitchen.  They then proceeded to Park St. and shot Bernard McKenna (42) in his bed.  Next they killed William Spallen (70) in his Arnon St home in front of his grandson Gerald Tumelty.  They then went next door and killed Joseph Walsh and his seven-year-old son Michael – Walsh was killed by a sledgehammer. 

Later in the evening, John Mallon (60) was killed in the north of the city in Skegoniel Av when a gang found that their original target – his son – was not at home. 

McDermott and Parkinson says that the Arnon St massacre effectively killed the Craig/Collins Pact before it be got started. 

Parkinson says that S/Con Hill and his companion were badly beaten by a crowd before being shot.  He also gives the date as March 30th.

On April 3rd, the editorial in the Irish News states that “never, even in the worst state of Terror in the South and West, has anything like the condition of affairs which now prevail in the Northern capital been experienced”.

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