SAOIRSE32

An Phoblacht

Remembering 1981: Anniversary marked in Long Kesh

(Author not named)

In the prison hospital in the H Blocks of Long Kesh Tom McElwee died on hunger strike in cell 1, Kieran Doherty and Raymond Mc Creesh died in cell 2, Francis Hughes died in Cell 3, Kevin Lynch died in Cell 5 and Bobby Sands died in Cell 8.

Laurence Mc Keown was on hunger strike for 70 days. He spent most of that time in the prison hospital. Brendan Mc Farlane was O/C of the republican prisoners in the H-Blocks during the Hunger Strike. He visited the prison hospital several times between March 1981 when the hunger strike started and October when it ended.

I visited six of the Hunger Strikers in the prison hospital. On Friday, 5 May on the 25th anniversary of Bobby Sands’ death the three of us stood in the prison hospital corridor and identified the cells we were confident the lads died in. We did not know which cells Patsy O’Hara, Martin Hurson, Joe Mc Donnell and Mickey Devine died in.

Laurence is almost certain Mickey Devine died in cell 5, where Kevin died. The prison service claims they do not have records of the cell numbers where the men died.I find this hard to believe.

We are by nature curious and such facts like identifying which cells the hunger strikers died in is an important part of the story of the Hunger Strike. This information is especially important now because the prison hospital is a listed building. It forms the centre piece of the tour which is on offer to those visiting the prison.

To mark Bobby’s anniversary a group of us held a short ceremony in his cell. We also held a minute silence in each of the cells where the lads died. In Bobby’s cell Tom Hartley spoke briefly and recalled the agony of the times for the Hunger Strikers and their families. He described 1981 as a defining year in the freedom struggle and in the lives of those close to the Hunger Strikers.

Danny Morrison read an extract from one of Bobby’s poems and his diary which he kept in the early stages of his hunger strike.

Jake Jackson, a close comrade of Bobby’s spoke in Irish, Bobby’s first language inside the jail.

Michelle Gildernew, MP for Fermanagh/South Tyrone, the seat held by Bobby when he died, spoke of the honour it was to follow in Bobby’s footsteps and of how proud she was that the people of her constituency stood with the prisoners when those with power and influence had abandoned them.

As we moved from cell to cell someone from the group who knew would say who died there. From Bobby’s cell we walked a few feet across a small corridor to cell 7. A voice recorded “we don’t know who died here”. We held a minute silence. In a zig-zag fashion we covered the ground of the prison corridor heavy under foot and heavy of heart.

In cell 6 a voice said: “We don’t know who died here”, a minute’s silence observed. The group in caravan fashion proceeded to Cell 5, “Kevin died here” said Bik, “And I think Mickey died here” said Laurence as the minute’s silence settled in.

Onto Cell 4 and the burden of the ceremony began taking its toll: “We don’t know who died here” was lower in tone as some stayed in the corridor to compose themselves.

In Cell 3 I said: “Francis died here”. I could see the faces of those around his cell search out a memory of him. For me I saw him in his bed with his mother and brother Oliver by his side.

In cell 2 Bik said “Kieran died here” and I added softly “so did Raymond” as we stood in silence before going to the last cell. There in Cell 1 it was left to me to complete the painful odyssey: “Tom died here”. A sigh greeted the minute’s silence. We quickly departed to different parts of the prison hospital to be alone with our experience.

It was emotionally very difficult because most of those at the ceremony were very close to events either inside the jail like Bik McFarlane, O/C of the prisoners or Martin McGuinness in the leadership of the movement at the time.

This is the first year since the Hunger Strikes, 25 years ago, that ex-prisoners and members of the Sinn Féin leadership have been able to pay their respects to the Hunger Strikers inside the cells where they died.

Indymedia.ie

Saturday May 20, 2006 21:41

The PSNI in Strabane have been accused of harrassing members of Ógra Shinn Féin on Friday the 19th of May.

The Republican Youth organisation has claimed that plain-clothed members of the PSNI harassed two well known members.

The two Ógra members were sitting in the middle of the town when an unmarked vehicle approached them from behind.

Speaking of the harassment, one of the Ógra members involved said, ‘Four men where in the car, all wearing suits. The front window of the car was rolled down and I was asked my name. I refused to give my name until identification was shown. When I made the request, the four men exited the vehicle immediately. My friend and I were then separated, with two suited ‘detectives’ to each of us.’

‘While we were separated we went under various jibes and remarks about our appearance, clothes, religion, and political allegiances. We were searched and questioned about various family members and our movements on that day. We were threatened with arrest, and my friend was accused of disorderly behavior, and myself of obstructing the ‘police’.

Barry McColgan, spokesperson for Ógra Shinn Féin slammed the activites of the PSNI, saying, ‘Throughout the harassment these ‘political detectives’ were continually verbally abusive to the two members. It was clear from the attitude of these unreformed bigots that they were trying to provoke the men into a reaction, a reaction they did not get.’

‘This continuous campaign of politically motivated harrassment, intimidation, detentions and arrests of Ógra members is directed to surpress our political ideals but infact, makes us more resilient, cohesive and stronger, safe in the knowledge ‘that we are right!

‘We will continue in our campaign to ‘Smash Political Policing’, and in our campaign to secure community based and community led policing, that is truly accountable and has no links to the securocrats, the ‘political detectives’ and bigots of the past, where accountability is held by all the people of Ireland!’

Related Link: http://www.osf.pro.ie
Ógra Shinn Féin osf6county at yahoo dot com

BBC

Empey says “elements in the government” oppose the deal

Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey has said “elements in the government” are opposed to his assembly deal with PUP leader David Ervine.

Sir Reg has said Mr Ervine joining the UUP assembly team will cost Sinn Fein a ministerial seat in any executive.

He has confirmed his party has been in touch with other assembly members about increasing the strength of the Ulster Unionist group.

However, he has refused to identify which politicians had been involved.

Mr Empey made the comments on the BBC’s Inside Politics programme on Saturday.

The UUP has said Mr Ervine’s move would pass a third Sinn Fein executive place to them and see a unionist majority for the first time on the executive.

Earlier this week, DUP leader Ian Paisley said by linking with the PUP the UUP were “allying” themselves with terrorism.

The party’s deputy leader Peter Robinson said the Ulster Volunteer Force - with which the PUP has links - was active in criminal and paramilitary areas, according to the latest report by the Independent Monitoring Commission.

However, Mr Ervine has said a stronger unionist presence on any executive that was formed, would bolster confidence in his community.

“I think I’m doing a very logical, shrewd political move,” he said.

Irelandclick

With this year’s Tour of North Orange parade only four weeks away the Ardoyne Parades Dialogue Group has embarked on a series of meetings with groups and individuals right across the community.
Two years ago, the route took Orangemen along part of nationalist Duncairn Gardens where intense rioting erupted.
The Ardoyne group is currently involved in dialogue with the loyalist North and West Parades Forum. But group spokesperson Joe Marley said the most important dialogue of all was with the local community.
“We are striving to achieve a resolution to the issue of contentious parades on the Crumlin Road, but a key part of our work in recent weeks has been ongoing consultation with the people of Ardoyne and in particular with the people most affected by the violence associated with the aftermath of the loyalist parades,” Joe Marley said.
“We have already met with local youth providers and with residents from Mountainview, the Dales and the Crumlin Road.
“In recent weeks too we have begun to canvas the views of young people in the area about their attitudes to Orange marches.
“The community has a collective responsibility to ensure that our young people do not get caught up in senseless violence which achieves nothing.
“We will be calling on everyone, parents, youth leaders, teachers, clergy, community workers and the political parties, to play their part in ensuring the safety of our children.”
The APDG spokesman said the group would continue to call on the loyal orders to enter into dialogue with residents.
“The APDG will continue to fight for the rights of the local community to be recognised by the loyal orders but our approach is based on dialogue and peaceful protest. We do not want to see young people get caught up in the sort of thing that happened last year in June and July and which set back all attempts to achieve a resolution. We will be meeting with young people, engaging with local schools and youth providers in a bid to get everyone working together.

Journalist:: Áine McEntee

Irelandclick

But Housing Executive says planned house inspections are purely routine

The Housing Executive has acted quickly to calm fears in Ardoyne that there is an asbestos risk in some local homes.
Concerns were raised among residents when a letter was distributed to homes saying that in the next number of weeks specialist consultants would be visiting houses in the Strathroy Park, Etna Drive, Holmdene Gardens, Northwick Drive and Highbury Gardens to see if there was any asbestos in houses.
But the Executive insists the inspections are just routine maintenance and part of a rolling scheme.
The letter, which was distributed to every house in the five streets, says the Executive will be compiling a register of how much asbestos, if any, is in each dwelling.
Paul O’Neill, who lives in Strathroy Park, said he was concerned at receiving the letter.
“We have had a lot of work done in the past and my fear is that if there is asbestos in the house it has been disturbed by the building work. The Housing Executive should have checked the houses before they did the renovation work instead of doing it now.
“There are children in nearly all of the houses mentioned in the letter and I am worried that they could be affected by the asbestos when work was done to the houses,” he said.
A spokesman for the Housing Executive said asbestos checks are a routine procedure.
“As part of health and safety regulations for the management of asbestos the Housing Executive has established a procedure for the inspection of all our properties as part of the routine inspections required for planned cyclical maintenance schemes,” said the spokesman.
“Such a scheme is scheduled for the Ardoyne area, and as is routine in all these cases, the houses involved will be checked to establish if there is the presence of asbestos in the property.
“Strict health and safety conditions are set down for the removal of asbestos.
“The Housing Executive will employ a licensed contractor who is trained in the specialist handling and removal of asbestos.
“Tenants would also receive appropriate compensation when the work is completed,” he said.

Journalist:: Evan Short