Justice in conflict: paramilitary punishment in Ireland (North)

Not in my back yard: control of Irish Travellers by paramilitaries and vigilantes across the island of Ireland

“…In other instances, the same case can be claimed for non-Travellers with regards to state-sanctioned justice (Feenan, 2002;Naughton, 2005). However, in taking action against Travellers, vigilantes and paramilitaries may well be influenced by the vengefulness apparent to state sanctioned law.…”

“…The circumstances related to reasons for expulsion or punishment beatings (Feenan, 2002) are similar. However, given that lack of accommodation (including lack of transient sites) for Travellers is a key issue impacting upon opportunities for their social inclusion, the actions of Republicans (and vigilantes in general) are cause for concern.…”

RU right in the head?: The development and dissemination of educational resources addressing positive mental and emotional health issues for adolescent males in Northern Ireland.

“…From 1973 to 2004 there have been almost 3000 victims of shootings by paramilitaries (primarily on young men) and more than 2200 recorded victims of vigilante style beatings [13]. Complicating this further is that in many communities throughout Northern Ireland the police are not formally recognised as a legitimate authority and paramilitaries have become the 'informal police' enforcing their own brutal forms of justice [14].…”

Beyond the Metaphor:

“…They developed violent systems of informal justice wherein alleged offenders were punished through beatings, shootings and banishments (Feenan, 2002). Thousands of individuals were shot in the knees, thighs, elbows or ankles, beaten with iron bars, baseball bats or hurling sticks, or forcibly expelled from their communities under threat of death (Conway, 1997;Silke and Taylor, 2000;Knox, 2001).…”

“…Apart from the 'military' conflict in Northern Ireland which saw 3600 people killed and over 40,000 injured (over 2000 of the deaths were civilians-see McKittrick et al, 1999McKittrick et al, : 1474, both Republican and Loyalist paramilitaries assumed responsibility for the 'policing' of their own areas. They developed violent systems of informal justice wherein alleged offenders were punished through beatings, shootings and banishments (Feenan, 2002). Thousands of individuals were shot in the knees, thighs, elbows or ankles, beaten with iron bars, baseball bats or hurling sticks, or forcibly expelled from their communities under threat of death (Conway, 1997;Silke and Taylor, 2000;Knox, 2001).…”