sentences:  McCann was appointed commander of the OIRA's Third Belfast Battalion.By 1970, violence in Northern Ireland had escalated to the point where British soldiers were deployed there in large numbers.From 3–5 July 1970, McCann was involved in gun battles during the Falls Curfew between the Official IRA and up to 3,000 British soldiers in the Lower Falls area that left four civilians dead from gunshot wounds, another killed after being hit by an armoured car and 60 injured.