The Orange celebrations that year centred around London Road, with the lodges then returning to pubs in their own localities. A group of Orangemen were heading down Scotland Road on their way to the Wheatsheaf pub at about 330pm when they were set upon by a group of dock labourers.
A major skirmish ensued in which knives were drawn and as police reinforcements arrived two shots were fired, one of which struck John Malley in the thigh. He was one of the attacking party and was taken into custody, when a search found a large carving knife in his possession. Police then took him to the Rose Hill dispensary for initial treatment, before transferring him to the Northern Hospital. Another shot hit 14 year old Richard Brown in the shoulder, but his wound wasn't serious.
Police arrested around 40 persons for the affray, including a number of Orangemen who were found to have pistols. However there was no sign of the person who fired the shots at Malley and Brown, the only description being that it was somebody wearing white trousers. Malley remained in hospital and died on 16th July and nobody was ever convicted of his killing.
No comments:
Post a Comment