Battle of St Matthew ' s The Battle of St Matthew ' s or Battle of Short Strand was a gun battle fought between the Provisional Irish Republican Army ( IRA ) and Ulster loyalists on 27 June 1970 . It took place in the area around St Matthew ' s Roman Catholic Church , which is in the mainly nationalist Short Strand district of Belfast . At the time it was the Provisional IRA ' s most significant operation in the Troubles up to then . Background . The Northern Ireland riots of August 1969 marked the beginning of the Troubles . Belfast saw the fiercest clashes between republicans ( mainly Catholics ) , loyalists ( mainly Protestants ) and the Royal Ulster Constabulary ( RUC ) . During the riots , which saw both communities in the grip of a mounting paranoia about the other ' s intentions — Catholics convinced that they were about to once again become " victims of a Protestant pogrom " and Protestants that they were on the " eve of an IRA insurrection " . Loyalists burnt whole streets in mainly Catholic and republican areas . The Irish Republican Army , which then had very few members , was unable to hold off the attackers , and in December 1969 split into the Official IRA and Provisional IRA — with the Provisionals vowing to act as defenders of the area in future . The Short Strand is a mainly Catholic and nationalist enclave in mainly Protestant and unionist East Belfast . In the early years of " the Troubles " , Catholics in Short Strand numbered about 6 , 000 , while their Protestant neighbours totalled about 60 , 000 . The battle . The shooting began shortly after 10pm on Saturday 27 June and lasted for about five hours . However , republicans and loyalists disagree over what sparked the violence and who fired the first shots . Republicans and nationalists claim that the violence was started by a mob of loyalists who were returning from an Orange Order parade . They say that the loyalists tried to set the church alight with petrol bomb s and invade Short Strand , with the intention of burning the nationalists from their homes . Hence , the republicans argue that they were simply defending the church and Short Strand from loyalist attack . Loyalists claim that the violence was begun by the republicans ; allegedly when the returning Orangemen and supporters came under attack on Newtownards Road . They also claim that republicans attacked homes on Newtownards Road in order to lure the loyalists into a trap . Whatever sparked the violence , a small group of IRA volunteers and members of the Citizens ' Defence Committee took up positions in the grounds of St Matthew ' s Church and in the surrounding streets ; intending to hold back the loyalists . The IRA was led by Billy McKee , who was then commander of the IRA ' s Belfast Brigade . Shortly after the shooting began , Stormont MP Paddy Kennedy went with Short Strand residents to the local RUC base and demanded protection for their homes . British Army Colonel Mike Dewar later said : " The whole incident had taken its course because the Army was so chronically overstretched that night in Belfast " . A British Army company did arrive but it did not intervene . BBC journalist Peter Taylor later said : The shooting intensified but the soldiers still declined to intervene and separate the two sides – either because they felt they were not numerically strong enough or because did not wish to get caught up in the middle of a sectarian fight , in the darkness , with shots being fired by both sides . Liz Maskey , who was a volunteer nurse that night , said that Short Strand was surrounded by loyalists and claimed that they attacked her ambulance as it tried to leave the area . After about five hours , the loyalists retreated . IRA leader Billy McKee claimed that his unit had fired 800 rounds during the battle . Casualties . Three people were killed in the clash . An unknown number were wounded — including Billy McKee , who was shot five times . Other disturbances and aftermath . Other street disturbances in Belfast that day resulted in three Protestants being shot dead by the IRA , with all three incidents happening in trouble off the Crumlin Road . The following day , loyalists expelled 500 Catholic workers from the Belfast shipyard . Shortly after , the British government ’ s representative at Stormont said that the decision to allow Orange parades to go ahead on that day was " the greatest single miscalculation I have ever seen made in the course of my life " . Many Catholics and nationalists believed that the IRA had failed to defend them during the August 1969 riots . However , it is argued that the IRA ' s defence of Short Strand redeemed it in the eyes of many Catholics and nationalists . Among republicans , the battle is seen as a key event in the growth of the Provisional IRA . Less than a week later , the British Army seized a large haul of Official IRA weapons during a three - day operation in west Belfast . Nationalists saw this as a confiscation of their defences .