Description
Local reaction to the destruction caused by The British Army on 'unapproved' cross border roads.
British troops used a mechanical digger to plough up a stretch about 180 metres long of a road running from Castleblayney in County Monaghan to Crossmaglen in County Armagh.
The action proves ineffectual. A few hours later, local people from both sides of the border gather with spades, shovels and picks to fill in the dug up road.
Nevertheless, it is now very rough, and vehicles can only cross it with difficulty.
Between this spot and the border are four houses, including a shop and a garage. The digging up of the road affects people on both sides of the border.
Local people are cut off from purchasing supplies such as milk and bread, and a farmer cannot access some of his fields. While the road has been filled in, there is an expectation that the British Army will dig it up again.
Nearby, the British Army cratered the Teer Drumacon bye road which links another road running from Crossmaglen to Castleblaney. This road has been cratered twice before and each time local people have filled it in.
Today British troops blew three holes in it.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 19 October 1971.
The reporter is Tom McCaughren.