MON. MAY 1, 2000: The Orange Order cancelled a proposed march down Dawson Street in Dublin city centre which was to take place on May 28.
WED. MAY 3, 2000: A number of nationalists were warned about their safety by the RUC following the discovery of documents in a loyalist area of west Belfast.
THURS. MAY 4, 2000: Ciaran Nugent, the first Blanketman in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh following the abolition of political status for Republican prisoners in 1976 died in Belfast. He was in his forties.
The Orange Lodge of Dublin and Wicklow cancelled their planned Orange march on May 28 in Dublin as a result of protests.
FRI. MAY 5, 2000: A joint statement from the British and the 26-County administrations said that the Executive at Stormont would be restored on May 22 following an expected statement from the Provisional's military wing stating that their weapons would be put 'completely and verifiably beyond use'.
SAT. MAY 6, 2000: The Provisional's military wing issued a statement agreeing to put their weapons 'beyond use' by allowing its dumps to be regularly inspected by two outside inspectors, Cyril Ramaphosa, former general secretary of the African National Congress and former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari.
MON. MAY 8, 2000: St Maoilíosa's GAA club in Irvinestown, Co Fermanagh allowed British Telecom to erect a telecommunications mast on club grounds, despite strong objections from residents of Lack Road, Irvinestown. The RUC and British army were brought in to protect workers erecting the mast.
WED. MAY 10, 2000: In a statement to a Belfast newspaper using a recognised codeword the Continuity IRA called on the Provisional's military wing to disband and hand its weapons over to those who were "prepared to defend the Republic".
Two RUC men -- Darren James Jones (31) and Michael Magowan (32) -- were jailed for trying to frame an 18-year-old nationalist, Bernard Griffin in 1998.
THURS. MAY 11, 2000: A BBC opinion poll in the Six Counties published in the Belfast Irish News found that "nearly a quarter of Republicans who took part said they believed the [Provisional] IRA offer to put weapons beyond use went too far and amounted to surrender".
SUN. MAY 14, 2000: Five children and three adults narrowly escaped injury when a petrol bomb was thrown at the home of a nationalist family in Cornwall Close on the Rathenraw estate in Antrim town.
MON. MAY 15, 2000: Declan Lagan (13) from Ardoyne in north Belfast and four of his friends were standing near his home on the Crumlin Road when a car carrying five loyalists drew up alongside them. The boys scattered but one of the loyalists grabbed him, pulled him to the ground and started kicking and beating him. Two of the loyalists who had chased his friends, including his brother Gerard (16) came back and joined in the assault. His brother and a friend tried to help Declan by throwing stones and the loyalists eventually abandoned the attack. Declan suffered lacerations to his head and leg and was badly shocked.
WED. MAY 17, 2000: Around 200 Orangemen assembled at Craigwell Avenue, a small nationalist street in Portadown, Co Armagh. The crowd, which included Portadown Orange man David Jones, made its way from Carleton Orange Hall to Craigwell Avenue where they converged outside nationalist homes. Men wearing scarves and masks shouted abuse and threats at the residents for over 40 minutes. The RUC who arrived at the scene stood back and refused to take any action to disperse the loyalist gang.
A powerful machine gun, a rifle fitted with a telescopic sight and silencer, other weapons and paraphernalia were found in a building in Ballymoney, Co Antrim, formerly used by the Progressive Unionist Party, which is linked to the British-backed death squad the UVF.
THURS. MAY 18, 2000: A police issue Heckler and Koch MP5 sub-machine gun lost by the RUC was said by a caller to a Belfast newspaper to be in the hands of Republicans opposed to the Stormont Agreement.
FRI. MAY 19, 2000: Belfast was brought to a standstill following a series of telephone bomb warnings received by a number of newsrooms from callers reporting to be from the Continuity IRA claiming bombs and incendiary devices had been planted at various locations in the city. Premises in Bedford Street, Dublin Road and Great Victoria Street were evacuated but nothing was found.
SAT. MAY 20, 2000: A taxi driver who had dropped a regular customer in the predominantly loyalist area of White City on the outskirts of north Belfast was targeted by four members of a British-backed loyalist death squad who tried to surround the taxi. When the driver accelerated, one of them threw a breeze block through the passenger door of the taxi, injuring his arm. Two bottles were also thrown.
THURS. MAY 25, 2000: Nationalist homes and property in the Obins Street area of Portadown, Co Armagh were searched in an RUC/RIR joint operation. A large force of British Crown Forces descended on the area at 5.10am and spent several hours engaged in searches of the district. Local people were harassed by the RIR as they passed through a cordon which had been set up to ring the Obins Street/Parkside Park Road area off.
The British army observation post at Glassdrummond, near Crossmaglen, Co Armagh was targeted in a mortar attack.
In a Banbridge, Co Down District Council by-election, the Ulster Unionist Party lost a relatively safe seat in the Dromore Town ward to the Democratic Unionist Party with the DUP vote increasing from 770 to 1,603 votes. The Ulster Unionist vote dropped from 3,020 to 1,251 votes.
SAT. MAY 27, 2000: The Ulster Unionist Party voted by 53% for and 46% against to accept the David Trimble's proposal to return to the Stormont Executive, paving the way for its restoration by the British government on May 29.
SUN. MAY 28, 2000: Eddie McCoy (28), who was suspected of shooting UFF death squad leader Johnny Adair, was shot dead by two gunmen at the Motte N' Bailey public house in Dunmurry, outside Belfast. The Provisionals cover group 'Direct Action Against Drugs' (DAAD) were suspected of involvement in the shooting.
SAT./SUN. MAY 27-28, 2000: On Friday the Royal Ulster Constabulary and British paratroopers moved in to seal off all access to nationalist areas in Portadown, Co Armagh. Life in nationalist areas of Portadown was disrupted for most of the week-end before, during and after a so-called 'Junior' Orange Order parade down the lower part of the Garvaghy Road. The parade, up to one hundred adult Orange men and loyalist supporters wearing paramilitary regalia, marched in a triumphalistic manner with a band down the lower Garvaghy Road. Hundreds of loyalist supporters also gathered in the town and attempted to force their way up the lower end of the Garvaghy Road through the RUC lines. The parade reached the Parkmount area of the road around 9.30 am. Participants then returned at 5pm, gathering in front of the doors of nationalists houses before leaving for the town.
Nationalist estates became highly militarised, with constant helicopter activity for much of the week-end and a massive and high-profile deployment of Royal Ulster Constabulary members and British Army Paratroopers. Residents were placed under curfew for almost twenty-four hours.
All freedom of movement was restricted and access to the town, the hospital and the motorway were sealed off by check-points. Residents living on the lower Garvaghy were hemmed into their houses. One resident compared it to being under "home arrest" for over six hours. The checkpoints were finally lifted in the early hours of Sunday morning
On Saturday night, a large crowd of Orangemen and loyalist supporters gathered at Drumcree for a rally. Tensions continued to run high during the whole night, many fearing that the crowd would descend towards interface areas surrounding the Garvaghy Road and attack nationalist houses.
MON. MAY 29, 2000: The Stormont Executive was restored by the British government.
TUES. MAY 30, 2000: The DUP announced they will take their two seats in the Stormont Executive on a rotational basis and seek 60% unionist support there to expel the Provisionals from the Executive.
WED. MAY 31, 2000: A children's cross-community choir concert organised by People in Harmony at St John's Chapel on the Garvaghy Road, was disrupted by Portadown Orangemen beating Lambeg drums attempting to drown it out. The concert, featuring a choir composed of Catholic and Protestant pupils from nearby schools, flautist James Galway and singer Máire Brennan of Clannad, was attended by approximately 1,000 people.
After the concert, teachers, parents, children and guests headed for a reception at the Protestant Portadown College, on the Killicomaine Road. They were met by a 300 strong loyalist mob who hurled missiles and sectarian abuse while preventing families from leaving the hall. The situation became so bad that the RUC and British army were deployed. They set up check points but did not disperse the mob.
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