The North's new 'Twelfth'

From midday, chants of "I, I, IRA!" could be heard all over the university area of Belfast where thousands of Catholic students live. Hundreds of houses were bedecked with Tricolours and other bunting. Many occupants were already drunk and the queues in local off-licenses were breathtaking.

Songs commemorating the 1981 hunger-strike belted out as students smashed bottles, sprawled out drunkenly on the road, and taunted passers-by with sectarian abuse.

They hauled sofas and chairs onto the streets and dozens sat outside creating a racket. Others perched on upstairs window-ledges, some even climbing onto roofs. In Palestine Street, they urinated on people on the pavement below.

Additional Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers had been drafted into the area in advance. But they sat in their Land Rovers, keeping a discreet distance from the students for most of the day.

The 'Fields of Athenry' was the most popular song but verses were interspersed with political slogans. "Our love was on the wing – Sinn Féin!/We had dreams and songs to sing – IRA!/It's so lonely round the fields of Athenry."

There was nothing creative about the attire. Everybody wore green wigs or shamrock hats. The women sported Tricolour feather boas and tiaras entwined with Tricolour ribbons and green tinsel. Nearly every male was turned out in a Celtic or GAA shirt.

At Belfast City Hall, a free open-air concert took place in the afternoon. The crowd was made up mainly of families and was well-behaved. The event was hosted by Coronation Street and former Boyzone star Keith Duffy. Local group, the Chevys, played hits from Van Morrison and the musical Grease.

It was a solidly working-class event. Belfast's bourgeoisie were heading to the Waterfront Hall later on where Moya Brennan of Clannad and the Ulster Orchestra were performing. There was no trouble in the city-centre yesterday evening. But back in the university area, thousands of drunken students were on the rampage.

On the Cromwell Road, a football bounced off residents' cars, causing damage, as a group of students made a drunken attempt at a game. Round the corner, another inebriated mob tried to set fire to wheelie bins.

In Fitzroy and Rugby Avenues, nearly ever other house had groups of drunken students chanting slogans and singing republican songs belligerently. Many had run out of green hats and were wearing red and white ones emblazoned with "Merry Christmas".

By 9pm, the PSNI had obviously decided the softly softly approach wasn't working. There were numerous reports of assaults and disorderly behaviour and, at the time of writing, 12 arrests had been made. But it could have been 50 times that number.

Police were pelted with beer bottles in Agincourt Avenue, a main thoroughfare. By midnight, the streets were awash with broken bottles, vomit and half-eaten curry chips. A camera crew was pelted with missiles.

Young drunken males wandered about, some with their shirts off, others shouting abuse or sexual obscenities at whoever passed by. The Twelfth, St Patrick's Day in Belfast, it's hard to tell the difference. The only plus is that, so far, there are no triumphalist green parades.

Suzanne Breen