Sir, – John Horgan's piece (An Irishman's Diary, November 1st) about the Paisleyite takeover of the centre of Armagh in 1968 to prevent civil rights marchers from entering the city after their march, reminds me that I owe a sincere thanks to The Irish Times for saving me from the cudgels of the mob that day.
I was then an RTÉ reporter and I was stopped by RUC officers from passing the steel barriers used to keep the sides apart. But I had to get to the hotel where we had an improvised radio studio. “You’re on your own if you go in there,” the officer said,”We can’t help you”.
The crowd may have struck Mr Horgan as being “not particularly ill-humoured” but a short time later they assaulted a BBC television crew from London at the Shambles.
As I strolled towards the hotel I was stopped by three strong lads with cudgels who demanded to know who I was and where I was from.
On being told "press from Dublin" the leader asked "Irish Independent or Irish Press?" Judging that they were not particularly bright I replied, in a friendly conspiratorial tone "Actually, The Irish Times". "Go ahead, friend," he said, and I did. I got as far as the hotel bar but just about.
By the way, earlier that morning at least one hardware shop was doing a roaring trade in pickaxe handles. Maybe I should have bought one!
– Yours, etc,
JOHN HOWARD
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.