APPRENTICE Boys leaders have demanded a public inquiry into what they described as "heavy-handed" police tactics during the stand-off at Dunloy, Co Antrim, on Saturday evening, when more than 1,000 bandsmen and loyalists were attempting to enter the village.
The RUC fired a number of plastic baton rounds and used batons to repel attempts by the crowd to reach the predominantly Catholic village. Thirty busloads of Apprentice Boys' supporters had stopped there to join the local club's protest at police lines just outside the village. A number of police officers and civilians were slightly injured.
The SDLP's North Antrim constituency representative, Mr Sean Farren, said that Apprentice Boys who had no connection with the village had attempted to force their way in and had caused considerable fear among residents.
The culmination of the police operation at Donloy was supervised by the RUC Deputy Chief Constable, Mr Ronnie Flanagan, who arrived by helicopter. In a television interview on Sunday he defended the actions of his men.
Mr Flanagan said that in Dunloy local people had been engaged in trying to arrive at some sort of accommodation. He added: "But it has to be said [that] a lot of others on the way home from Derry to various other places stopped at the scene.
"The numbers that were there were greatly swollen. I think that there was a tremendous influence of drink that had been taken by some of those who arrived, and that posed some difficulties. But, from our point of view, we were determined to preserve the peace, to maintain order, and that is exactly what our officers did."