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#REDIRECT ] |
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The name '''Catholic Reaction Force''' (CRF) was used in ] to claim responsibility for attacks and threats against ] during ]. In 1983 it was used to claim responsibility for the shooting dead of three Protestant civilians at a church service near ], ]. That was claimed as retaliation for attacks on Catholic civilians. An ] (INLA) member was involved, but the INLA said it had not ordered the murders. |
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{{Rcat shell| |
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==Darkley Murders== |
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{{R to related topic}} |
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{{R from subtopic}} |
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The name was first used to claim responsibility for the Darkley murders. On the evening of 20 November 1983, three masked gunmen<ref name=lostlives>McKittrick, David. ''Lost Lives''. Mainstream Publishing, 2001. pp.963-964</ref> attacked a church service at Mountain Lodge Pentecostal Church near ], ]. At the time there were about sixty people inside the small wooden building.<ref name=lostlives/> Three members of the church were shot dead as they stood outside the entrance; they were Protestant civilians Harold Brown (59), David Wilson (44) and Victor Cunningham (39).<ref>http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/cgi-bin/dyndeaths.pl?querytype=date&day=20&month=11&year=1983</ref> The gunmen then stood outside the building and sprayed it with bullets, wounding a further seven people.<ref name=lostlives/><ref></ref> The service was being tape-recorded when the attack took place. On the tape, the congregation can be heard singing the hymn "Are You Washed in the Blood of the Lamb", followed by the sound of gunfire.<ref name=lostlives/> |
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{{R from pseudonym}} |
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{{R with history}} |
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A telephone caller claimed responsibility on behalf of the "Catholic Reaction Force". He said it was <blockquote>...in retaliation for the murderous sectarian campaign carried out by the ] By this token retaliation we could easily have taken the lives of at least 20 more innocent Protestants. We serve notice on the PAF to call an immediate halt to their vicious indiscriminate campaign against innocent Catholics, or we will make the Darkley killings look like a picnic.</blockquote> The caller named nine Catholics who had been attacked or killed recently.<ref name=lostlives/> |
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}} |
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A week later, ] (INLA) leader ] gave an interview. He admitted that one of the gunmen had been an INLA member and admitted supplying him with the gun,<ref name="dilemma">''Ireland's Terrorist Dilemma''. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1986. pp.104-105</ref> but said there was no justification for the attack.<ref name=lostlives/> The INLA member's brother had been killed by ]. McGlinchey explained that the INLA member had asked him for a gun to shoot a known loyalist who'd been involved in sectarian killings.<ref name="dilemma"/> However, "clearly deranged by the death of his brother", he "used it instead to attack the Darkley Gospel Hall".<ref>Coogan, Tim. ''The IRA''. Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. pp.535-536</ref> McGlinchey said: "This INLA member was a brother of someone who had been killed and he must have been unbalanced or something to have gone and organised this killing. We are conducting an enquiry into the whole affair".<ref name="dilemma"/> |
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The CRF declared a ceasefire on 28 October 1994.<ref>http://www.uhb.fr/langues/cei/chron94.htm</ref> |
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==Other claims== |
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The name was used to claim another two attacks on 20 August 2001. In one, shots were fired at a house in ] and in the other a ] was thrown at a Protestant home in ].<ref>http://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=200108200012</ref> |
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In August 2002, a death threat was sent in the name of the CRF. It warned that the CRF would murder three unnamed Protestants who worked at hospitals in ] and who had links to the security forces. Soon after, loyalists threatened to kill Catholics working at two Belfast hospitals. ] and Sue Ramsey of ] alleged the CRF threat was sent by loyalists to raise sectarian tension. Kelly added: "The Catholic Reaction Force is a non-existent organisation".<ref>http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2002/08/05/story62792.asp</ref><ref>http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/08/06/belfast.hospitals/</ref> |
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==See also== |
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{{Campaignbox Northern Ireland Troubles|state=collapsed}} |
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*] |
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*] |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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