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”.