Abstract
Only one party leader, Gerry Fitt of the SDLP, noted any symbolism in the date set for the Convention election, 1 May, the internationally celebrated day of trade union and working class solidarity. And no party leader publicized that the date was symbolic in another sense as well: May Day in Morse code is an internationally recognized symbol of distress. In the final week of the campaign, six Ulstermen were killed in four separate shooting and bombing incidents; the dead included the leader of the Official IRA in Belfast, Billy McMillan, shot in what appeared to be an episode of the IRA/IRSP factional feud. The day before polling, a spokesman for the paramilitary Protestant Action Group claimed that its members had murdered seven Roman Catholics in the previous two weeks. Polling day was relatively uneventful: no one was killed, but the homes or automobiles of two candidates were bombed, Republican Club election workers were shot at in the Lower Falls area of Belfast, and policemen taking away ballot boxes to the count were stoned by hundreds of demonstrators in the Creggan area of Londonderry.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
