A DUBLIN auction house is selling off riot gear worn by the RUC during the ‘Battle of the Bogside’,
Other items being auctioned by Whyte’s included a Parachute Regiment beret found in Leeson Street in west Belfast.
The items being sold are from private collector Patrick O’Hagan.
The ‘Battle of the Bogside’ material have a price of between €200-€300 Euros
A description of the items in the catalogue reads:
“A black RUC ‘Skulgarde’ helmet with metal badge and Enniskillen Depot label to interior; together with a gas mask of a type issued to the RUC; also a truncheon (pictured above).
“The 1969 Apprentice Boys parade didn’t enter the nationalist Bogside area of Derry but it skirted close enough for exchanges of stones thrown between Catholic and Protestant groups.
“The exchanges quickly intensified and the RUC attempted to drive the Catholics back towards the Bogside.
A barricade on Rossville Street became the interface between the two sides with the RUC encouraging Protestant youths to fire slingshots across while officers attempted to remove the barrier. Stones and petrol bombs were rained down on the RUC from the buildings above.
“As the barricade was breeched civilians rushed in with the RUC raising fears of attacks on homes in the Bogside.
“The riots lasted three days during which Free Derry was declared in the Bogside.
“Of the 59 RUC officers involved in the initial exchanges, 43 were injured. James Chichester-Clarke, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland requested that the Army be deployed on the streets of Derry.
2It was the first deployment of British troops in the Northern Ireland Troubles.
“The British troops were at first welcomed by the Bogside residents as a neutral force compared to the police and especially the B-Specials.’
The Parachute Regiment beret has an asking price of up to €180 Euros.
The auction house catalogue says it was “recovered from Leeson Street, Lower Falls following a riot” in the 1970s.
Tags: