Norah McCabe was shot in the back of the head by a plastic bullet fired from an RUC land rover at around 7:45 a.m. on July 9th, 1981, the day after hunger striker Joe McDonnell died. (Danny Barrett would be killed by a British Army sniper in the evening.) The new boards were mounted to coincide with the fortieth anniversary of McCabe’s death. In 1981, a mural was painted at the same spot (in the old Linden Street) to protest the use of plastic bullets: see Plastic Death.
“Norah McCabe, 1947-1981, murdered by an RUC plastic bullet on 9th July 1981, aged 33 years.” With a poem “Peace” by daughter Áıne McCabe, who was three months old when her mother was killed (Irish News).
“Strabane remembers them forever” – the seven signatories of the 1916 Proclamation are shown here in colour portraits over the GPO – Connolly, Pearse, Clarke, McDonagh, Ceantt, Plunkett, Mac Diarmada.
For the 40th anniversary of the 1981 Hunger Strike, portraits of the deceased ten (plus Frank Stagg and Michael Gaughan from the 1970s) were placed on the railings of the Ballymurphy memorial garden. There is a new (compared to 2006 and 2008) set of plaques, erected in 2017:
“A Letter To The 22: You have not gone away, you are in the hearts and on the lips of your people. The old speak of you with knowing tongue. The middle aged, as those who worked beside you. The young men and women with a passion not unlike your own. Your names can be heard on the wind taken from the mouths of men who tend their flocks on Slieve Gullion, Cnoc Phadraıg, Glenshane. They echo in the small graveyards in Cork, Kerry, Galway, Mayo, Tyrone, Antrim, Derry and Armagh. They are heard among your people at the mass gate on Sunday in the crowd at the hurling game, around the hearth when the bottle is cracked and song is sung. Your image can be seen on the faces of happy smiling children for whose freedom you gave your all. You are in our prayers you have not gone away, you never will. Mıse le meas Colm Mac Gıolla Bheın 2006. This monument was erected by the Ballymurphy Ex POWs in memory of the 22 hunger strikers who died for the cause of Irish freedom. It was unveiled on the hundredth anniversary of Thomas Ash[e] who was the first republican to die on hunger strike in 1917. He died after five days while being force fed. Thomas Ash[e] an these 21 brave Irish men stood by their beliefs and refused to be criminalised. Fuaır sıad bás ar son shaoırse na hÉıreann. I measc laochra na nGael go raıbh sıad.”
The Bogside bonfire was set ablaze on Sunday night. It has long been put about that the occasion for the Derry bonfire is the feast of the Assumption (which newspapers and radio stations have repeated, e.g. BBC | RTÉ | Irish Independent). This is an attempt to provide some cover for the “dissident” republican nature of the event, as evidenced by the King Billy, UDA, UVF, RUC and Israeli Star Of David flags on the bonfire, shown above. The triggering event is rather the introduction of internment on August 9th, 1971. (Sunday was also the same day as the ‘Fire In The Sky’ fireworks to mark the end of Féile (Derry Journal). The local féilte in Belfast – which in time became Féıle An Phobaıl – were introduced as alternatives to the rioting that traditionally took place to protest the introduction of internment; the origins of Derry’s Gasyard Féıle, which began much later (1993) but takes place in the same August weeks, are unclear – please comment if you know.)
Before it was lit the banner in the lower left of the image above – “Ronann [sic] Kerr first, Lee Anderson your [sic] next” – was removed; the other flags and banners remained (BBC). The banner had drawn criticism as Kerr, a Catholic PSNI officer, was killed by a car bomb just north of Omagh in 2011 (BBC | BelTel).
William Glasgow – see the image below – was the British Army soldier who shot and killed 15-year old Manus Deery in 1972 near the spot of the bonfire. His killing was ruled “unjustified” in 2017 (Irish Times); Glasgow died in 2001 (BBC). There are two plaques to Deery’s memory and he is included in the mural The Runner.
A new board has been mounted in AMCOMRI Street for the fortieth anniversary of the 1981 hunger strike, with photographs from the area in the background, including the Revolution mural at the bottom of Beechmount Avenue in 1996-1997.
“Everyone, Republican or otherwise, has their own particular part to play. No part is too great or too small, no one is too old or too young to do something.”
“This plaque commemorates the centenary of the Easter Rising and the sacrifice of all those men and women who took part. We will remember their unwavering stance against British imperialism and its rule. We will acknowledge their influence on following generations to continue their legacy. In particular we remember all those old republicans from within this area, the Bone, who campaigned through the decades to fulfill the aspirations of the 1916 combatants. (Con Colbert) An Irish martyr who came to be defined by his favourite phrase “For my God and my country” fought on Marrowbone Lane [Dublin], 1916″.
“Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermudez … President of the Republic Of Cuba 11.6.2021. ‘Irish friends and Cubans living in Ireland have placed a Cuban flag on a mountain in the city of Belfast. The flag is 46 by 23 metres, the largest in the world. With the flag [is] the giant slogan and it’s [sic] demand to #UnblockCuba. [This is a] Moving and beautiful gesture from the “solidarious” children of an admirable people, [a] dignified and patriotic gesture of Cubans who are far away. Thank you for your unshakable solidarity …”
(Originally in Spanish: “Amigos irlandeses y cubanos residentes, han colocado en una colina visible desde la ciudad de Belfast, una bandera de Cuba, de 46 por 23 metros, la más grande en el mundo. La acompaña un letrero también gigante, demandando #UnblockCuba. Bello y conmovedor gesto de los solidarios hijos de un pueblo admirable, digno y de patriotas que están lejos. Gracias por la solidaridad invariable.” #LetCubaLive
The Falls Commemoration Committee (Fb) organises an annual commemoration for IRA D company volunteers from Divis and the lower Falls (as well as special events for the fiftieth anniversary of the Falls Curfew in 2020). The fourteen local volunteers are portrayed in a group above St Peter’s. They include the five volunteers who died in 1972 and were depicted in a mural previously at this spot.
“‘They won’t break me because the desire for [freedom and the] freedom of the Irish people is in my heart. The day will dawn when all the people of Ireland will have the desire for freedom to show. It is then that we will see the rising of the moon’ – Bobby Sands [March 17th, 1981]” Originally in Irish: “Ní bhrısfıdh sıad mé mar tá an fonn saoırse, agus saoırse mhuıntır na hÉıreann, ı mo chroí. Tıocfaıdh lá éıgın nuaır a bheıdh an fonn saoırse seo le taıspeáınt ag daoıne go léır na hÉıreann. Ansın tchífıdh [chífidh] muıd éırí na gealaí.”
“Am le haontacht na hÉıreann” [Time for Irish unity]. Between stints in prison in 1976, Bobby Sands carried a green harp flag – symbol of Ireland and in particular of the United Irishmen – in an August march to protest the withdrawal of political status (Gérard Harlay/Bobby Sands Trust). He is shown here marching under the #TimeForUnity message on Slıabh Dubh in the campaign for a border poll and Irish unity “lenár lınn”/”in our time” (Fb | tw).
Extramural Activity 