Oisín
12-30-2008, 06:10 PM
'Doomsday'threat to 262,000 Northern Catholics
The "doomsday" situation facing a quarter of a million Catholics in the North was set out in a document revealed for the first time under the 30-year rule.
Some minority communities would only manage to hold out for a few days, while other papers warned of the "catastrophic" effects on the Army if Ireland refused to intervene.
The Department of Foreign Affairs document, known as the "doomsday" file, is one of more than 5,500 files released by the National Archives.
In a grim assessment, it said more than 262,000 Northern Ireland Catholics would "be in immediate danger, with minimum chances of escaping", in a "doomsday situation".
It warned this could happen even if the British army was present -- although the scale of attacks would be reduced. The unsigned document was drawn up in the mid-70s at the height of the Troubles.
The document also estimated how long communities could hold out if surrounded and how food and supplies might have to be brought in by sea or air in a Berlin-style airlift.
[Continue reading] (http://www.independent.ie/national-news/doomsdaythreat-to-262000-northern-catholics-1587734.html)
The "doomsday" situation facing a quarter of a million Catholics in the North was set out in a document revealed for the first time under the 30-year rule.
Some minority communities would only manage to hold out for a few days, while other papers warned of the "catastrophic" effects on the Army if Ireland refused to intervene.
The Department of Foreign Affairs document, known as the "doomsday" file, is one of more than 5,500 files released by the National Archives.
In a grim assessment, it said more than 262,000 Northern Ireland Catholics would "be in immediate danger, with minimum chances of escaping", in a "doomsday situation".
It warned this could happen even if the British army was present -- although the scale of attacks would be reduced. The unsigned document was drawn up in the mid-70s at the height of the Troubles.
The document also estimated how long communities could hold out if surrounded and how food and supplies might have to be brought in by sea or air in a Berlin-style airlift.
[Continue reading] (http://www.independent.ie/national-news/doomsdaythreat-to-262000-northern-catholics-1587734.html)