Debate on monument

Pairtí Poblachtach Sóisialach na h-Éireann

IRSP Derry

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Letter to Irish News

I am writing in response to your editorial in Today's Irish news (3/3/00) concerning the erection by the IRSP of a republican statue as a national hunger strike monument on the grave of INLA hunger strikers Patsy O'Hara and

Micheal Devine, in the city cemetery, Derry.

Your editorial begins 'Individuals from all traditions are fully entitled to commemorate those who have died during the course of the troubles. Dignified ceremonies, particularly during anniversary periods, can often be of

considerable comfort to grieving relatives'.

Fine sentiments of which the IRSP concur with, however as your editorial continues it turns those fine sentiments on their head as it argues reasons why the Republican Socialist community should not be allowed to commemorate our dead in a manner that is both dignified and fitting.

I will respond to your objections one by one- You state, 'a republican statue which has been erected in Derry City cemetery is entirely inappropriate in nature'. You continue 'A 10 foot high sculpture of a masked paramilitary member, carrying a rifle and wearing dark glasses and a beret is completely out of place there'.

Inappropriate?, A statue, sculpted from original photographs from 1981, of a INLA volunteer standing head bowed, rifle held by the muzzle, in silent memory of his fallen comrades on the grave of two INLA hunger strikers.

Maybe you would like to illuminate your readers on how this is inappropriate.

You further state 'The graveyard is publicly owned, and used by people from both sections of the community '.

The IRSP believe that the cemetery is used by ALL sections of the community not just 'both' sections as you stated, and the last time I looked Republican Socialists were still members of the community, equal members. Equality that INLA volunteers such as Patsy O'Hara, Micheal Devine and Kevin Lynch fought and died for.

The INLA is well aware of the suffering caused during thirty years of conflict, as it is well aware of its role and acknowledged this in its statement of cease fire on 22nd of August 1998. This monument is not intended to offend but to mark with respect and dignity our comrades.

This monument to our dead should be respected, republican socialists will not be excluded either in life or death.

There was no mistake in the erection of this fitting tribute to the hunger strikers, it is entirely appropriate that it is on the grave of Patsy O'Hara and Micheal Devine.

The fact that the IRSP refuse to be pushed and shoved into the narrow, sectarian nationalist/catholic analysis of the problem, and prefers to espouse an actively anti sectarian policies aimed building working class unity says more about the exclusion practised by Irish News than it does the republican socialist movement.

Is Mise

Paul Little

IRSP Ard Comhairle.

Republicans Unveil Terrorist Statue

By Ian Graham, PA News

A 10ft tall statue of an armed terrorist was unveiled in a Derry cemetery

today. The granite sculpture of a man standing guard with a rifle, dressed

in combat clothing, a scarf, beret and dark glasses, has been erected in the

City Cemetery and was formally unveiled by hard-line republicans to

commemorate the deaths of the Maze Prison Hunger strikers.

It was commissioned by the Irish Republican Socialist Party, the

political party aligned to the Irish National Liberation Army, who had

three men among the ten who starved themselves to death 19 years ago.

The statue has enraged unionists who have demanded that the City

Council, which gave permission for its erection, remove it. But

republicans insisted today that it would be staying put.

Around 300 people gathered in the cemetery for the ceremony. A

colour party of men in black berets, dark glasses and black clothing

led a parade to the republican plot.

Leading IRSP member Willie Gallagher reaffirmed the republican

group's opposition to decommissioning, but said that in refusing to do

so republicans did not have to "take the armed road".

He said: "Let's be clear, the decommissioning demand is unrealistic,

the issue is being used as a weapon in which the British government and

unionist establishment revert to kind and try to coerce a republican defeat."

He said the Good Friday Agreement did not contain either the vision

or momentum to deliver peace, let alone a political solution. It was "in

tatters" and "collapsing from its own internal contradictions".

He revealed that this week the IRSP was launching an initiative

which, he said, was aimed at "giving control of the peace, and by

extension control over our own lives, back to the working class

communities who fought the war".

Mr Gallagher said the proposed Charter for Non-Aggression was "in

essence a pledge between working class communities not to attack each other".

BBC

Terrorist statue will 'not be moved'

Statue was unveiled with full paramilitary honours Republicans

attending the unveiling of a controversial statue in Londonderry

have been told it will not be removed in the face of unionist objections.

A crowd of approximately 600 gathered at Derry City Cemetery

for the ceremony to commemorate those who died in the 1981 hunger

strikes. The statue, 10 ft tall and mounted on a plinth shows a man in

paramilitary dress and holding what appears to be an AK-47 rifle.

Before the statue was unveiled there was a march through the city

cemetery led by a lone piper followed by flag bearers dressed in

black and wearing berets and glasses. It was commissioned by the

Irish Republican Socialist Party which is linked to republican

paramilitaries the Irish National Liberation Army.

IRSP spokesman Willie Gallagher insisted the statue would remain

in its current position. "There'll be no change of heart by the IRSP

or the families of the hunger strikers," he said.

"There'll be no change of heart either by Derry City Council because

we've fitted all the criteria for this monument."

The family of one of the men being honoured issued a statement

expressing their dismay at the reaction to the controversial statue.

In their statement, relatives of Patsy O'Hara said:"To those who want

it removed, we say let us remove all war memorials at the same time."

Democratic Unionist Party assembly member Gregory Campbell

reacted angrily when the statue was erected during the week. The

DUP security spokesman described it as a glorification of violence

and said the memorial was offensive to Protestants. "One of the worst

terrorist atrocities in the entire history of the Troubles was by the INLA,

12 miles from the city cemetery, in Ballykelly," he said.

A total of 17 people were murdered by an INLA bomb in the Droppin'

Well bar in 1982.

"We're not talking about something remote or some distance removed

from the people affected by this."

The DUP security spokesman said people from both political traditions

were buried in the council-owned cemetery. Mr Campbell insisted that

the statue would have to go. "If people want to glorify terrorism and

mass murder, it should be done in a place where the general public

don't take exception to it," he said.

Until now, the site has commemorated those who died in the republican

prison hunger strikes in 1981 with a wall and a plaque listing names of

the dead.

A spokeswoman for Derry City Council said permission had

been granted for the new memorial, but in light of the row the

city engineer was compiling a report to be presented to the

council later this month.

"We don't screen or look at images of headstones or

memorials or their replacements," she said.

"This is the first time there has been a problem of this

nature and the situation has to be assessed fully."

But Fra Halligan, a member of the IRSP's executive, denied the

statue was offensive. "It is sad day when the dead, who themselves

are victims of these troubles, are demonised even in their graves,"

he said.

The monument was considered appropriate for the site, the republican

socialist plot for counties Londonderry and part of Tyrone, he said.

"We think it is a very fitting tribute to all the hunger strikers and

members of our movement who have given their lives."

Statement From the O'Hara family on the

Occasion of the Dedication of the Derry Monument

We, the family of hunger strike martyr Patsy O Hara, wish to congratulate

the Derry City Hunger Striker Memorial Fund for all the work they carried

out during the past four years to raise funds for a fitting tribute to the

H-Block martyrs from Derry who died in 1981.

We also wish to thank the Ard Comhairle and members of the IRSP who

helped ensure that a fitting tribute will stand for years to come to

memory of Patsy and his other Comrades!

Special thanks to all those who took part in recording the cassette,

'Memories of a Hunger Strike'.

We view with dismay the furore this week to once again attempt to

Criminalise Patsy and his Comrades. These men died during a War, a war

of Liberation, and as Combatants in that War are entitled to such a

monument. And as Republican Socialists they died for a dream of a better

life for all the people in this City, the Working class. So this tribute

should be seen in the context of their sacrifice and ideals.

To the ones that would want to have this removed, we say let us remove all

the War Memorials at the same time! Including the World war memorials like

the one that stands in our city's diamond, that Commemorates a terrible

sacrifice for the world!

Finally, we would like to offer special thanks to the people of Derry City,

who kindly contributed to the various fund raising events that were

undertaken to fund the building of the monument. Without your support the

monument may never have been built.

Now that the monument is standing, we would like to publicly question

Sinn Fein's behaviour in regard to the fund-raising activity. It is not that

they were not supportive of this memorial, but that prominent members of

their movement actually discouraged other people from supporting the effort

to have the monument built. Sinn Fein's active attempts to discourage others

from supporting this effort is a slur to the hunger strikers and an insult

to the people of Derry.

Let the fight go on.

--Patsy O'Hara

In response to the letter i just read about the republican plot in the Derry

cemetery, my father is buried there and I am so proud to see the monument

finally going up.

Its been too long and our comrades are finally being honoured.

How dare anyone especially someone who does not live in Derry or near the

Creggan cemetery criticize this monument.

As usual the pride of being my fathers daughter and a friend of most people

buried in this graves fills my heart.

Thank you,

Deirdre M. Montgomery.

No glorification of war

I WISH to express concern at the public display in Derry of a sculpture depicting an armed man in what can only be described as an obscene glorification of political violence.

I am referring to the monument in the Diamond in which a soldier is portrayed in the act of driving a bayonet in a downward direction presumably into the body of an opponent on the ground.

The monument itself regularly forms part of commemorations of the last century's military activities against the homes and persons of villagers, tribesmen and farmers in all corners of the globe.

Perhaps the city fathers might consider making a formal apology for this city's role in giving aid and comfort to military aggression against people who had not themselves ever come here to initiate hostilities against the people of Derry.

When did the Turks, the Kenyans, the Egyptians, the Malays or the Boers ever do anything against us?

When did the Chinese ever try to promote at gunpoint a trade in opium in the streets of Derry?

When are we going to stop using our schools, churches and public spaces to commemorate and glorify warmongering, political violence and terror?

PAT MULDOWNEY, Derry

Better place for INLA memorial

DEATH by hunger-strike must be one of the most painful actions imaginable; equally it is an act of heroic dimension.

That is why I welcome the memorial erected in memory of Patsy O Hara, Mickey Devine, Kevin Lynch and their comrades in Derry.

Aside from this I personally knew Patsy and Mickey and the erection of the memorial gives me great satisfaction ... they were two great lads and of the stuff of which martyrs are made.

I've always felt that, if they were provos, their images would be on every gable wall in the city.

Alas political sectarianism has shrouded the noble sacrifice of these two young men.

Derry should be proud of them.

As for the rantings of the DUP representative, Gregory Campbell: it is best to ignore his bigotry.

I feel however that the organisers of the memorial should take the opportunity arising from the publicity surrounding the memorial to reconsider the positioning of the statue in the cemetery.

With due respect to the families of the two volunteers (incidentally, at the time of his arrest Patsy was a valued member of the brigade staff in Derry), I would suggest a more public site for the memorial: somewhere within the vicinity of Free Derry Corner.

I think the city council would be accommodating to this idea, at present.

It would be a most appropriate area for the memorial and, as it also commemorates the sacrifice of IRA volunteers who died with the INLA at that dreaded time, a place near the Bogside homes of the two Derry hungerstrikers would be more public than the city cemetery.

LIAM O COMAIN, Derry