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Burntollet Bridge was the setting for an attack during the first stages of the Troubles of Northern Ireland.〔Rosie Cowan and Nicholas Watt, (End in sight after long march ), ''The Guardian'', 27 October 2001〕〔(Derry, the Walled City ), Discover Northern Ireland, p. 7〕 A People's Democracy march from Belfast to Derry was attacked whilst passing through Burntollet on 4 January 1969. The march had been called in defiance of an appeal by Northern Ireland Prime Minister Terence O'Neill for a temporary end to protest. The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association and some Derry nationalists had advised against it. Supporters of Ian Paisley, led by Major Ronald Bunting, denounced the march as seditious and mounted counter-demonstrations along the route.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=RTÉ Archives )〕 At Burntollet an Ulster loyalist crowd numbering in the region of 300, including 100 off-duty members of the Ulster Special Constabulary, attacked the civil rights marchers from adjacent high ground.〔Susan McKay, ''Northern Protestants: An Unsettled People'', Blackstaff Press, 2000, p. 315〕〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The People's Democracy March - Summary of Main Events )〕 Stones transorted in bulk from William Leslie's quarry at Legahurry were used in the assault, as well as iron bars and sticks spiked with nails. Nearby members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary did little to prevent the violence.〔〔 Many of the marchers described their assailants' lack of concern about the police presence. The violence was followed by renewed riots in Derry City. Terence O'Neill described the march as "a foolhardy and irresponsible undertaking" and said that some of the marchers and their supporters in Derry were "mere hooligans", outraging many, especially as the attackers had evaded prosecution. Loyalists celebrated the attack as a victory over Catholic "rebels". The ambush at Burntollet was described by Paul Bew, an academic at Queen's University Belfast who as a student had participated in the march, as "the spark that lit the prairie fire".〔Malachi O'Doherty, (Lord Bew on Burntollet ), Malachaiodoherty.com〕 Many Irish nationalists and radicals saw the march as proving that the Northern Ireland polity could not be reformed by peaceful means. ==References== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Burntollet Bridge incident」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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