Dominic Corr recounts how he was burned out of his home on 14th August 1969.
(for the Treason Felony blog)
As the 14th of August this year marks the 50th anniversary of the
British state/unionist pogroms of 1969, I wrote this piece to remember
the night our family and many other families were burnt out of our homes
and the reasons why. In the hope that such pogroms should never be
allowed to happen again in Ireland.
I must say our maternal Granny Nellie McDonnell had experienced this
before and I believe her resilience helped our family and others through
what was to come. Attempts had been made to burn her out or force her
out of family homes on three occasions as a result of British
state/unionist pogroms at different stages in her life. Her home and her
sister Maggie’s home among others in Norfolk Street had been attacked
and an attempt was made to burn them out when she was a young mother on
the 10th of July 1921. This was two months after Maggie’s son Volunteer
Sean McCartney had been shot and killed in action by the British army
and black and tans on the Lappinduff mountain in County Cavan, where he
was operating as part of a joint Belfast/County Cavan IRA flying column.
A day later on 11th July a local IRA man James (Seamus) Ledlie who was
on defence stand by was shot dead by a unionist sniper as he stood in
Norfolk Street not long after leaving her house in the reign of terror
which paved the way for the formation of the northern state in the
1920s.
Her house was attacked again in the aftermath of the outdoor relief
strikes in the 1930s. When the British government again used
sectarianism to divide the working classes. As Catholics and Protestants
had been protesting together and even rioted together against the state.
When the state decided to end payments for the unemployed and replaced
them with food vouchers and other poverty inducing cuts that had
families almost starved.
Then again in 1969 when she had her own children reared and was now a
grandmother and great grandmother watching herself her youngest
daughter, son in law and her grandchildren and some of her siblings
being burned out of our family homes in Norfolk Street when the state
again decided to attack Irish Catholic citizens burning their homes. On
the 14th of August 1969 we were to experience the sectarian fascism our
Granny had already endured twice before and was to endure again for a
third time.
Our family my mother, father and their three sons were burnt out of our
home as was our Granny Nellie and some of her siblings who lived in
different houses a few doors away. My mother told me years later
although tensions were slightly high due to certain unionists among them
Ian Paisley stoking up the sectarianism with anti papist and anti
Catholic rhetoric within speeches he was delivering at the time. She
believed it would blow over until a short time later when an incident
happened the day before loyalists burned our houses down. My mother was
putting our bin out for the bin men when a few unionists from the
Shankill were making there way along Norfolk Street to the Falls Road
where many unionists from the Shankill worked in the 1960’s. One woman
made a remark to my mother saying that she could possibly be wasting her
time putting the bin out as that may be the last bin she would put out
as all the dirt and rubbish would be cleared off these streets very
soon.
Unionists alongside members of the RUC and B Specials entered our
streets and proceeded to attack our family homes the next evening
burning many homes and leaving us as homeless political refugees in our
own country. As I’ve said sadly this was nothing new to Granny Nellie as
this was her third time either having homes attacked or being burned out
of different family homes in the Norfolk Street area by unionists and
state forces.
The pogrom in which my family and our granny were burnt out of our homes
in Norfolk Street was on the 14th August 1969. It was part of a
systematic state-led reign of terror when loyalists, orange men and the
UVF led by and under the tutelage and command of the B Specials and RUC
attacked houses in streets which ran between the Falls and Shankill
Roads. These streets were forcibly entered by the above gangs raking
them with gunfire and then throwing sawn down lengths of scaffolding
poles to break through the windows of small two up two down terraced
houses. After the windows had been broken scatter cushions soaked in
petrol with lengths of wire tied to them and petrol bombs were lit and
tossed into the houses. The homes burned like tinder boxes. These were
our homes, the homes of young families, elderly people, and some people
living on their own. The common bond this community had and which made
us targets was the fact we were working class Irish Catholics living in
Belfast.
Almost every family in our street, Norfolk Street were burned out that
night on Thursday 14th August 1969. I was too young to have any
definitive memories of being burnt out in 1969 or how our family
including our Granny, who moved with us every step of the way, became
homeless political refugees in our own country. How we had to live in
caravans in Beechmount, a school in Andersonstown or my aunt Sadie
McVeigh’s house in Kinnaird Avenue, Andytown, along with her husband
Tommy and their family of twelve children at the time.
We moved from pillar to post before eventually settling around 1970 in
Annadale Street in the New Lodge district of north Belfast. One thing
that always stuck with me was the attitude and character of our Granny
Nellie. Regardless of her multiple experiences she hadn’t a sectarian
bone in her body as she always maintained friendships with Protestants
whom she knew a lifetime. She was shrewd enough to know and often made
sure we knew that those who burned us out were in fact pawns in
England’s game of divide and conquer as well as being ignorant of their
own background. They themselves were in fact a residual over spill of a
people once plundered and conquered by the very same imperialist
racist/sectarian mindset. They were now being used as muscle and
puppets. They were the total opposite of people like Theobald Wolfe
Tone, Henry Joy and Mary Ann McCracken, William Drennan and other
protestant Irish men and women who were the founders of the political
concept known as Irish republicanism.
Shortly after 1969 a lot of people left Belfast to get some form of
respite going to places in the Free State like Gormanstown army camp
were they were provided with food and shelter. Our family never made
that move as our Granny Nellie maintained the belief that regardless of
what was happening she wasn’t for leaving Belfast. She said she wouldn’t
flee south as a refugee from British state/unionist pogroms in the early
1920’s when her home was attacked and the country was partitioned or the
1930’s and she wasn’t for fleeing in 1969.
She always seemed to be adamant in seeing a difference between the
evacuation of WWII, the Belfast blitz and the various pogroms and
sectarian attacks by unionists and the British state. She went to
Katesbridge when the Luftwaffe attacked Belfast but would never leave
when unionists, British military, B Specials, RUC, armed orange men and
the UVF attacked her homes at different times in her life. She
maintained that she and none of her family would “never allow anybody or
anything to force me from the city where I was born and raised my
family”. When we moved to the New Lodge our Granny Nellie came with us
as we settled in 55 Annadale Street which ran between Lepper Street and
the Antrim Rd. Pinkerton Street, Carntall Street in the New Lodge and
its hinterlands of North Queen Street, Vere Street, The Fenian Gut,
Little Italy and Carrickhill in north Belfast is where my paternal
family in Belfast all hailed from when my paternal great grandparents
settled in Belfast.
Although by 1970 we were settled as I said I think it was hard for both
my Granny and my mother as they were Falls Road women who had left all
they’d known and the community they’d grew up in. A plus side to our
moving was the fact that my mother’s sister Mary and my father’s brother
Arder lived in the last house at the junction of Carntall Street and the
New Lodge Road and they were closer than most in laws to an extent as
two brothers had married two sisters. My Granny was a Falls Road woman
born and bred, although she lived the final five years of her life in
the New Lodge and died there. I don’t think her life or my mother’s life
were ever the same after 1969, and to be honest, I don’t believe a lot
of lives including my own were ever the same either. She always
maintained it would never happen again as the people had an army
(referring to the IRA) which would never allow such pogroms to be
repeated.
I often thought about this throughout the last few years. That like many
others I had grown up in a war zone, an unjust war which was foisted
upon us in an abnormal setting which had became a normal way of life to
us. Though that situation would have different effects on thousands of
people as a roller coaster of emotions shaped our lives throughout those
years. Emotions from being happy at times when realistically you should
have probably been solemn and not knowing how to be empathetic in any
meaningful way or being in a position where anger became to easy a way
to deal with things. At times things happen which bring you back to
things that happened which has a direct effect on you personally or
others around you.
One such incident happened when I was in Krakow in a few years ago as I
visited the Jewish ghetto in a square. While at a holocaust memorial
which consisted of metal chairs which symbolised the furniture among
other belongings which were dropped on and around that spot by Jews who
had been forced to live in the ghetto as they were being rounded up to
be assassinated by the Nazis. I thought of my granny McDonnell and my
mother and father who had lost all their belongings as they too were
burnt out by fascists who would have been happy to assassinate them. At
that moment in the square I felt a tingling mixed with a shudder in my
body and my eyes welled up, not with sadness or fear but with a sense of
pride and gladness. Pride that no matter what my mother, father and
Granny came through they would never let it define them in a negative
way or turn them into hate filled beings.
I’m glad that they rose above it to still believe that equality and
justice would some day be in place in an Ireland free from
racist/sectarian British misrule and interference.
A famous public handshake by the late 26 County Taoiseach Albert
Reynolds with the Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams and the SDLP leader
John Hume in Dublin was designed “to tie Adams into a process from which
he personally would not be able to escape”, according to previously
classified British government files released this week in Belfast.
The famous gesture came in 1994, just a week after the announcement of
the ceasefire by the Provisional IRA.
In a memo on developments in the peace process, dated October 6, 1994,
Chris MacCabe of the Political Affairs Department of Britain’s Northern
Ireland Office told ministers and officials: “Albert Reynolds gratefully
and unquestioningly accepted the PIRA ceasefire as permanent.
“His subsequent meeting with Gerry Adams and John Hume was widely
believed to reflect indecent haste although clearly designed to tie
Adams into a process from which he personally would not be able to
escape, no matter what the republican movement did.”
Mr MacCabe continued: “Irish irritation at [the British government’s]
refusal to acknowledge the permanency of the IRA’s ceasefire also
demonstrated itself by early calls for a relaxation of security policy
in Northern Ireland and hints that IRA prisoners might be released
early.”
In the official’s view, “relief mingled with scepticism characterised
the initial response of the unionist community”.
There was immediate concern that “a secret deal had been struck’ to
bring Sinn Féin into the process”. However, a speech by the British
prime minister, John Major on September 16, 1994 “had done much to allay
unionist fears”.
Following the ceasefire, Britain’s attention turned to disarming the
Provisionals.
The then British Direct Ruler Patrick Mayhew said he was optimistic
about the possibility of a permanent peace according to a private letter
written by him in another file declassified in Belfast.
In a letter dated December 29, 1994, Mayhew wrote: “Peace has broken
out, I hope permanently, and for the first time in twenty-five years we
are harbouring more than a lingering hope the violence is over for good.
The atmosphere has been transformed.”
“However,” Mr Mayhew added, “all the paramilitary structures (including
armaments) remain in place”.
He acknowledged that there had been “some rumblings about the ceasefire”
in the republican movement but he felt that the overtures of the
leadership offered hope of permanent peace.
“The republican leadership having intentionally built bridges with the
Irish and American governments and the SDLP, there are some grounds for
optimism that the peace can be made to last if we can circumvent the
obstacle of the weaponry,” he wrote.
A PSNI raid on the grieving home of a former IRA Volunteer a day after
his funeral has sparked considerable anger in west Belfast.
The Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) described the police raid, in which
a number of items were seized from the home, as “shameless” and
described the PSNI unit involved as “British thugs”.
Alex (Alec) Murphy’s funeral took place at St Peter’s Cathedral on Monday
afternoon. He passed away at his home on the Falls Road last Thursday,
15 August.
Hundreds had gathered on the the Falls Road on Monday as a coffin draped
in the Irish tricolour was proudly carried from his home.
Around 15 men in the funeral parade wore IRA-style clothing bearing the
symbol of the Provisional IRA’s D Company 2nd Battalion.
At the garden of remembrance, where members of the unit are honoured,
the coffin was saluted by those wearing uniforms during a minute’s
silence.
Henry Reid, a friend of the deceased, told the crowd that Mr Murphy
remained unrepentant about his IRA past and became disillusioned
after the armed campaign ended.
He said Alec was 12 when he heard “gun battles raging on the streets”,
referring to the Falls Road curfew in July 1970. He was first arrested
at the age of 15 and was one of the youngest internees in Long Kesh,
and became a very active Volunteer.
Mr Reid said the Gibraltar ambush of three IRA Volunteers by the SAS in
March 1988 had “set off a chain of events which would result in Alec
again finding himself inside a prison cell.”
Mr Murphy received a 25-year sentence for a well-known IRA action in defence of
a republican funeral in west Belfast. A dramatic, televised incursion on
the funeral cortege by two plain-clothes British soldiers led to chaotic
and violent scenes which ended with the two soldiers being shot dead.
Mr Murphy was released after 10 years under the terms of the Good Friday
Agreement and immediately reported back to D Company, Mr Reid said: “But
like many before him, it was clear that Alec’s type of service was no
longer needed and he was sidelined and became disillusioned. He was cast
aside and forgotten about by those now in high positions, what a shame.”
He said Murphy was unrepentant, adding that he “never tried to sanitise
his involvement in the liberation struggle. And is on the record as
saying if he had to do it all again, he would.”
A PSNI spy camera mounted to a vehicle recorded all those in
attendance as the funeral cortege proceeded to St Peter’s Cathedral.
Earlier, a volley of shots had been fired over the open coffin in the
traditional republican salute for an IRA Volunteer. A video of the
tribute emerged on Monday.
While the Good Friday Agreement enshrines the right of everyone to
commemorate their dead, Sinn Féin have called for an end to gun salutes.
They said this week there was “no place for guns on our streets”.
The police have said
such tributes are illegal.
But the heavy-handed PSNI response at the Murphy home was strongly
condemned.
“The West Belfast Community has been witness to many despicable acts of
cowardice and insensitivity by Crown Forces over the years, regardless
of whatever nom-de-guerre they use at any particular time. This is a new
low,” said Saoradh in Belfast.
“This attack on Alex’s home and his family, still grieving from the loss
of their loved one, has been carried out at the behest of hysterical
unionists,” they added.
“These raids are also the direct outworkings of Sinn Féin’s repeated
calls for an end to Republican Volunteers being afforded the final
salute they deserve from comrades.
“The actions of Crown Forces today simply demonstrate that in death, as
in life, they fear Alex Murphy and his revolutionary legacy. Saoradh
stand in solidarity with the Murphy family and call on the community to
further reject Sinn Féin attempts to normalise their own present-day
comrades in the PSNI.”
The IRSP said that a number of local residents had contacted them
“making clear their complete disgust at this action by the front line of
Britain in Ireland, as well as disgust at those who continually prop up
these thugs and attempt to integrate them into our communities.
“Our thoughts are with the Murphy family at this time.”
The British prime minister believes there is an alternative to the “Backstop” – but can’t say what it might be
Irish Times. Dublin. Tuesday, Aug 20, 2019
Almost a month after becoming British prime minister, Boris Johnson got around this week to writing a letter outlining his demand for changes to the EU-UK withdrawal agreement. The new administration in London may have a negotiating strategy and some fresh ideas on how to avoid a hard Border in Ireland but, if so, the open letter does a good job of concealing them.
The four-page document restates Johnson’s opposition to the “Backstop” and sets out three specific reasons for that opposition. First, Johnson argues, the backstop is “anti-democratic” because it could keep the North in alignment with EU regulations without having a say over them. Second, he claims, it subverts a key aim of the Leave campaign – regulatory divergence from the EU. And third, it undermines the Belfast Agreement. None of these claims stand up to serious scrutiny.
A clear majority in Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU. It is an insult to them to claim any attempt to soften the blow of a hard Brexit is somehow anti-democratic. Total regulatory divergence from the EU – a hard Brexit – may have been the aim of the ultras behind the Leave campaign, but there is no empirical basis for claiming this is what British voters chose when they ticked the box marked ‘Leave’ – not least given that many high-profile Leave campaigners actually advocated staying in the Customs Union. The claim that the “Backstop” somehow thwarts the Belfast Agreement is the sort of argument that even a desperate student debater would struggle to deliver with a straight face; after all, the “Backstop” is expressly designed to prevent something – a hard border – that would self-evidently undermine the spirit if not also the letter of that accord.
Most worryingly, Johnson puts forward not a single idea for replacing the “Backstop”. Instead, he falls back on empty slogans first heard three years ago, putting his faith in unspecified “alternative arrangements”. The truth is that, if Johnson had any confidence that there was a viable new way of avoiding a hard Border while the entire UK left the Customs Union, he would not oppose the “Backstop” because it would be irrelevant.
The EU is facing a negotiating partner who is threatening to set himself on fire unless he gets what he wants. Unfortunately, Ireland is locked in an enclosed space with this irrational actor. That means the next two months could be extremely tense. A negotiated deal is in everyone’s interest. The Government must therefore maintain a constructive tone and do everything it can to find an accommodation that Johnson could sell to his party while retaining the core elements of the “Backstop” – which is (and it needs repeating) a reasonable, practical attempt to solve a problem London created with its mutually incompatible red lines. But the space for accommodation is narrow, and the timeline is excruciatingly tight.
On Monday, August 26, 2019 at 1100 hours, a Plaque Dedication will be held honoring the memory of Firefighter Jimmy Martinez, E-157, who died on August 24, 2018. The dedication will take place in the quarters of Engine 157 & Ladder 80, 1573 Castleton Avenue, Staten Island, NY. All off-duty members and their families are invited to attend. Members are requested to attend in dress uniform.
FIREHOUSE KITCHEN TALK:
Q&A WITH A PROBIE For those interested in joining the greatest job in the world, come join us at Friends of Firefighters (199 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231) on Wednesday, August 28, from 6:00-9:00 PM for a firefighter-prepared dinner and Q&A session with a probie on his Fire Academy experience and first year on the job. Please notify your family members and friends. This event is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. No RSVP necessary. For more information, call their office at 718-643-0980 or email info@friendsoffirefighters.org.
WORLD TRADE CENTER OAK PROJECT
Friends of Firefighters encourages all members to read about the World Trade Center Oak Project, a beautiful initiative started by one man who traveled from Michigan on September 13, 2017 to the September 11 Memorial at the World Trade Center in New York City. After collecting 60 fresh acorns dropped from the memorial oak trees, he returned home to work on raising the trees again. He is now desperately seeking permanent homes for 41 oak tree saplings in NYC where they can act as ‘living memorials’ and be a sign of both remembrance and rebirth. Ideally, they need to find homes by the end of September or they will not last through the next season. Please contact Friends of Firefighters at 718-643-0980 or info@friendsoffirefighters.org if you or your firehouse is interested in planting a WTC oak tree in someone’s memory, perhaps the most fitting memorial gift of all as we approach the anniversary of September 11th.
FF WILLIAM TOLLEY FUNDRAISER
The 1st annual FF William Tolley Fundraiser, “Tolleyfest” is here. Join in honoring Billy’s legacy and supporting the First Responder Community. The fundraiser is Thursday, October 17, 2019, from 6:00 -10:00 PM at Black Forest Brewhaus. Tickets are $60 per person. Registration deadline is September 30, 2019. Contact Bobby Tolley at (631) 327-0659 or robert.tolley@firesanddrums.org for questions.
