Holy Cross: The Untold Story

Anne Cadwallader

In September 2001, a group of Protestants attacked Catholic schoolgirls from the nationalist Ardoyne area of north Belfast as they walked to Holy Cross primary school. It was the beginning of a twelve week protest that catapulted Northern Ireland once again into the international spotlight.

As the police and TV cameras looked on, the little girls and their parents were pelted with stones, urine, sectarian abuse and even a bomb.

In this electrifying book, acclaimed journalist Anne Cadwallader goes behined the headlines to discover the truth about Holy Cross. By interviewing all the interested parties - parents and children, teachers and clergy, loyalists and republicans, police and politicians - Cadwallader pieces together the story of how and why a small stretch of road to a local school became the focal point for worldwide attention, spreading ripples as far away as South Africa and the southern states of America.

This is the definitive account of one of the most inflammatory and sensitive issues to emerge since the announcement of the republican and loyalist ceasfires, lifting the lid on the sectarian tensions that continue to plauge Northern Ireland.

“This is one of the most important books of the last three decades, a classic of its kind.” - David McKittrick, Ireland correspondent, The Independent

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