Battle of St Matthew's 1970
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 27 June 1970 – 28 June 1970 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1970 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | Post-1945 (1946 onwards) | derived from year |
| Location | Northern Ireland | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | The Troubles | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | United Kingdom | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 54.5992, -5.9060 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of St Matthew's or Battle of Short Strand was a gun battle that took place on the night of 27–28 June 1970 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was fought between the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), and Ulster loyalists in the area around St Matthew's Roman Catholic church. This lies at the edge of the Short Strand, a Catholic enclave in a mainly-Protestant part of the city. Violence had erupted there, and in other parts of Belfast, following marches by the Orange Order. The battle lasted about five hours and ended at dawn when loyalists withdrew. The British Army and police were deployed nearby but did not intervene. Three people were killed and at least 26 wounded in the fighting, while another three were killed in north Belfast.
The battle was the Provisional IRA's first major action during the Troubles, and a propaganda victory for the Irish nationalist organization. It presented itself as having successfully defended a vulnerable Catholic enclave from armed loyalist mobs. Loyalists, however, argue that the IRA lured them into a carefully prepared trap.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of St Matthew's (revision 1370274609), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle at Springmartin 1972 · 5 km
- Battle of Lenadoon 1972 · 7 km
- Battle of Carrickfergus (1597) 1597 · 14 km
- Battle of Carrickfergus (1760) 1760 · 14 km
- Siege of Carrickfergus 1689 · 14 km
- Battle of Connor 1315 · 20 km
Other battles of the The Troubles
- Battle of the Bogside 1969
- Battle at Springmartin 1972
- Battle of Lenadoon 1972
- Attack on Ballygawley barracks 1985
- Battle of Newry Road 1993
All 6 battles of the The Troubles →
Browse more: battles in Northern Ireland · Europe · Post-1945 battles