A west Belfast woman was assaulted by two masked men wielding a hammer and a baton as she tried to protect her semi-conscious son from a so-called punishment attack.
Ms Mary Johnston, a 52-year-old mother of 10 children from Rock Grove, blamed the IRA for the assault late on Monday night on herself and her 22-year-old son, Paul.
"Who else would have done it, although they will deny it of course," Mrs Johnston told The Irish Times at her home yesterday evening.
"I am afraid of them but I won't be intimidated by them," she said as she nursed bruises on her head, arms, back and legs.
She tried to protect her son by striking at the men with an antique musket. She also threw herself on her son's body to deflect the blows to his body. "I did what any mother would do. When you see your son getting beat no matter what age they are you automatically go to their aid."
Ms Johnston added: "Paul shouted, 'Who are you? What do you want? I have done nothing', and 'Leave my Ma alone. She's just out of hospital'."
Earlier on Monday evening Ms Johnston had received hospital treatment, for which she needed an anaesthetic.
"The men just replied, 'You know [what you have done], Paul, you know, Paul'. They said nothing else." Her son was in hospital last night being treated for severe injuries to his head, arms, legs and back. He was beaten semi-conscious, she added.
Over 18 months ago he was shot in the leg in another suspected IRA "punishment" shooting. He also served 18 months in jail on drugs offences, according to Ms Johnston.
She said her two youngest children, Clare (11) and Gary (10), who were in the house at the time, were badly traumatised by the attack.
