Quote from: Milltown Row2 on April 23, 2024, 03:00:44 PMQuote from: brokencrossbar1 on April 23, 2024, 02:19:48 PMI remember at the time it sent chills through the whole nationalist community. Just listening to Talkback and Trevor Birney talking about and how attacking someone like Sean Brown was a deliberate ploy as he was decent and could not be associated with any paramilitary organisation. It was purely to put fear and Terror through a whole community by striking at its centre.
We had just won the AI and had beaten Bellaghy in the Ulster final before Christmas 1996. There was a crew of us living in Belfast and we had close relationships on and off the field with a lot of the Bellaghy lads. It struck hard. I remember travelling home at the time and we regularly changed out pick up spots etc. Going to matches in Lurgan and that was always a concern as well. How the f**k was that normal?
Unfortunately we normalised it at the time and adopted
My dad handed me the book The Shankill butchers when it came out
Made me read it before I headed out that weekend, needless to say that put the willies up me for that period of heading out!
Remember getting stopped in Armagh late on a Friday night on the way to a game. 4 of us in the car. Pulled to the side of the road. Brit starting getting mouthy. Starting looking to do strip searches on the side of the road. Shoes off, belts off, open trousers....go f**k yourself. An hour later still there. You often wonder....