"I HOPE you rot in hell Get off our streets. We let you bury your dead, let us do the same," screamed a woman as the RUC and mourners clashed yesterday at the funeral of murdered INLA chief of staff Gino Gallagher.
His coffin was draped with the Tricolour and Starry Plough flags when it was removed from his west Belfast home yesterday. A belt, beret and gloves lay on top. About 400 mourners waited outside the house in the Glencolin Estate and 20 RUC Land Rovers lined the street.
Then, 12 men and women dressed in paramilitary uniform flanked the coffin.
About 60 RUC officers in riot gear moved forward, trying to stop the cortege leaving.
Scuffles developed and the coffin was placed on a bier as the fighting intensified. It was almost overturned. A woman screamed "For God's sake, look what you're doing. Leave us in peace Let us bury Gino with dignity."
Six mourners received head injuries. A nine year old boy, Tommy Torney, was taken away in an ambulance crying. He sustained a suspected broken leg.
The angry crowd chanted "SS RUC". The police said the funeral would not proceed with paramilitary trappings. The mourners were equally determined. Shortly afterwards, the coffin was taken back into the house.
The Irish Republican Socialist Party, the political wing of the INLA, said it was intent on burying Mr Gallagher "in the manner which he deserved". His partner, Margaret, and his parents, Theresa and Paddy, said his body would not be removed from the house until the RUC withdrew from the area.
"We will wait until kingdom come if need be," said his mother.
Negotiations involving the Clonard priest, Father Alec Reid, broke down and the IRSP said it would not engage in further dialogue with the RUC.
The RUC assistant chief constable, Mr Bill Stewart, said it was a "blatant attempt to turn the funeral into a political stunt". After a three hour stand off with the police, the IRSP announced the funeral was cancelled.
Another attempt will be made to bury Mr Gallagher today.
The IRSP spokesman, Mr Kevin McQuillan, last night urged people in west Belfast to gather at the Gallagher home today "in solidarity against the RUC".
Mr Stewart described such appeals as inflammatory. "The best hope for a peaceful resolution of this whole distasteful episode is for calm.
"What is achieved by deliberately engineering a situation where police have no option but to seek to ensure there is no breach of the law?
"We had hoped, after 25 years, there would be a realisation that everyone is the loser in such circumstances."
Mr Gallagher had been due to appear at Belfast Magistrates Court. He had been on bail on two charges of assaulting police arising from a minor riot in King Street, Belfast, last April. The charges were withdrawn by a prosecution lawyer who also agreed to the adjournment of related charges against three other men.