the development of Maze/Long Kesh PAGE 5 See page 15 ... · tle or no hassle from their local Social Security Office. As the course progressed some participants felt unable to continue

Coiste na nIarch imí JANUARY - APRIL 2006 VOLUME 8 ISSUE 1

inside:ICT course experiences - on placement with

statutory agencies in South Africa

See page 3

Roads to recovery- people from

communities acrossthe island discuss the impact of theconflict on them

See page 8

The 1981 Hunger Strike - impact and

interpretationsSee page 10

H3- the republican

prison struggle on film

See page 11

Coiste Youth- trip to Tí Chulainn

in South ArmaghSee page 12

CommunityRelationsWeek

See page 15

INTERPRETING AND DEVELOPING CONTESTED SITES

Report from Coiste conference on the development of Maze/Long Kesh PAGE 5

COISTE.COMM JANUARY - APRIL 2006

2

COISTE .COMM: � Ed i tors : Ros ie McCor ley, Laurence McKeown � Layout : Gerry Morr i son � Pr int : Novpr int , 5 -7 Conway Street , Be l fast

An important part ofthe PNB programmesince the outset hasbeen to design a pro-

gramme of work facilitating re-publican ex-prisoners in deep-ening and developing theircommitment to justice andpeace and to foster greater in-teraction and communicationbetween republican ex-prison-ers and all other sectors ofIrish society.

As part of this process we host-ed two training sessions for therepublican ex-prisoner com-munity, one on 3rd December2005 and another on 11thMarch 2006. The first event took place inCastlewellan Co Down involv-ing 60 participants who were

given the opportunity to honetheir skills in the arena of man-agement and good organiza-tional practices. Included inthe day long event was a pres-entation based on the princi-ples laid out in the ‘Get Organ-ised’ handbook, the much laud-ed Coiste publication producedsome years ago. The second training session

took place in Tí Chulainn inSouth Armagh. There were 90participants involved in thisevent which was primarily fo-cused on computer techniques.Although both events were in-tensive, all the ex-prisonerswho took part found them tobe both beneficial and relevantto the work in which they areinvolved.

PNB Training Events 2005/2006

Rosie McCorley, PNB OutreachCoordinator,facilitates one of theworkshops

Coiste PNB staff pictured at the Slieve Russell Hotel, Co Cavan, where they were one of 50 groups selected for an award by Daily Ireland fortheir work in promoting reconciliation and conflict resolution


3

ICT course experiences - formerpolitical prisoners take theirskills to South Africa

“Opportunity for enrolment in a 30-week ICT training programmeIn conjunction with the Northern Ireland Congress of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions(NIC-ICTU), Coiste na nIarchimí can now offer a limited number of places on an intensive

30-week ICT training programme scheduled to begin later this year.”

The above advertisement was one which caught my eye last yearand immediately struck me as something that would be of greatbenefit to me.

Stevie O’Neill and John Payne pictured at Kyaltsha


4

After talking to the PNB people at Coiste I enrolled forthe course and committed myself to the 30 weeks of in-tensive training in the hope that it would equip mewith the qualifications to enhance my employmentprospects.The programme for unemployed

former political prisoners andtheir relatives took place in Belfastbut the latter part of the pro-gramme (weeks 23-28) included atrip to South Africa where dele-gates were on placement with var-ious statutory agencies. (An over-seas allowance was available forparticipants).This programme was developedthrough a collaboration of Coiste,other republican and loyalist ex-prisoner organisations, Belfast Un-employed Resource Centre(BURC), Bridge to Employmentand the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. The training programme commenced in February 2005with 13 participants in attendance at BURC’s trainingsuites in Belfast city centre. All participants were given support and advice in rela-tion to any concerns about benefits and entitlementswhilst attending the course. As this was an official Bridge to Employment training

programme all participants joined the course with lit-tle or no hassle from their local Social Security Office.As the course progressed some participants felt unableto continue for various reasons and the number of peo-

ple to finally complete was 8.

A + TRAININGThe IT training began with A + train-ing in computer hardware and soft-ware; this was chosen as the firstmodule as it was the easiest exam toachieve. The training included both theoryand hands-on practical labs. Each participant was provided withtheir own toolkit and computer towork on. Certification was achieved after thesuccessful completion of two ‘online’multiple choice exams.

INET + TRAININGInet + is an introduction to internet technologies andprinciples. This course was more theory based than A+and included various topics. There were some practi-cal labs which gave participants the opportunity to de-sign their own web pages and test them using differentweb browsers. Certification was achieved upon the suc-cessful completion of an ‘online’ multiple choice exam.

Gary Matthews, David Livingstone, LiamHeffernan and Sean Campbell on their wayto Seal Island

John Payne on a trip to the game reserve


5

On Thursday 19th January 2006, a large number of people turned upat the Holiday Inn in Belfast to attend an event entitled ‘Interpret-ing and developing contested sites’. This was a seminar organised bythe PNB team as part of Coiste’s involvement in the process of hav-ing the Long Kesh prison site preserved and an International Centrefor Conflict Transformation (ICCT) established there.

Interpreting and Developing Contested Sites

Report from Coiste conference on the development of Maze/Long Kesh

(l-r) Mike Ritchie, Margaret Edwards and Johnston Price


6

Martina Purdy from the BBCvery ably chaired the entiremorning’s proceedingswhich included a formidableline-up of hugely-informedspeakers from a range ofbackgrounds, all contribut-ing a wealth of experienceand information to this con-troversial debate.Raymond Mc Cartney, Chair-person of Coiste and SinnFéin appointee to theMaze/Long Kesh MonitoringGroup, welcomed the audi-ence and gave a short back-ground to the issue. As a for-mer republican prisoner hesaid that the project was nev-er about creating a trophybut was rather about ‘ensur-ing that a place of historycan be used in a progressiveand beneficial way’.Patrick Cooke, curator of Kil-mainham Gaol in Dublin, de-scribed the experiences hehas come through in hiswork there since 1986. Hespoke of the difficulties ofhandling the history of suchan emotive site, the issue ofrevisionism, the ‘intensecauldron of bitterness’ whichexisted after the civil war, theexecution of the 1916 Risingleaders, and how they at Kil-mainham agreed to presentthe facts, the truth of whathappened there and allowvisitors to make up their ownminds. In his own words‘The raw reality of that build-ing is the historic truth’.Patrick described the volun-tary work of the RestorationSociety in the 1960s whichled to the important muse-um which now exists. Theyset about collecting memora-bilia and artefacts whichnow form parts of the im-pressive exhibition whichvisitors can view on the mu-seum tour. The huge success of Kilmain-ham Gaol Museum is evidentfrom the level of interest inthe site, both nationally andinternationally. When itopened in 1986 some 14,000people visited the site. Nowone of the top tourist attrac-tions in Dublin, Patrick in-

formed us that there are tensof thousands of visitors pass-ing through its gates everyyear.The next speaker was Mar-garet Edwards from the Tow-er Museum in Derry. Underthe stewardship of Derry CityCouncil, this project has nowbecome a major tourist at-traction which also has hadits difficulties in arriving atagreement in how it shouldpresent the city’s history. Margaret spoke about the ex-hibitions on the siege of Der-ry, the world wars, partitionand emigration. A film isshown which documents thehistory right up till 1992 andthere is ongoing work to up-date this even further. Thisproject assists people in gain-ing an understanding of thecity’s history and as Margaretstates ‘The educational roleof the exhibition and thewhole museum context can-not be over-estimated’.

Louise Purbrick from theUniversity of Brighton wasthe next contributor whospoke about different con-tested historical sites such asthe Rangariri Battlefield inNew Zealand and the StasiPrison site in Germany. Shealso made reference to aproject in London wherethere is an exhibition called‘Pottery of the Interned.’These are works by internedforeign nationals currentlyimprisoned in BelmarshPrison. Louise suggested thatit might be appropriate totake such an exhibition to beshown at the LongKesh/Maze site at some fu-ture point given that this isalso ‘a space where peoplewere once interned.’Adding further to the debate,Alan Mc Bride, a northBelfast youth worker, spokeabout how he felt about thepreservation of theMaze/Long Kesh site as

“...ensuringthat a placeof history can be used in aprogressiveand beneficialway”


7

someone who had lost fami-ly members in the Shankillbomb. He feels strongly that thereshould be no glorification ofthe conflict, however, he alsosees that it is important that‘The stories should be told,they have to be told’.The focus of the discussionchanged with a focus on theICCT where Johnston Pricefrom the Ulster People’s Col-lege gave his very specificviews as someone who hasbeen working in the conflictresolution environment for along time. He stressed the need forpractical work and the inclu-sion of community, women,youth and ex-prisoners in an‘Institution for conflict trans-formation that would give usall the inspiration that wouldreinforce our courage tomove beyond conflict.’The next contribution camefrom Paul Arthur from the

University of Ulster who em-phasised the need for truth-telling and stated that the IC-CT must grapple with theproblem of ‘complex truth’.His view is that part of theagenda of the ICCT would bedealing with the need to ‘re-vision and reformulate theviews’ that led to the GoodFriday Agreement in 1998.The final speaker was MikeRitchie, director of Coiste,who gave an overview of theproposals which Coiste hasput forward for the prisonsite and the ICCT. He gave a comprehensive de-scription of the tours, visits,visitor centre, menu of toursand what is required to havethe site made ready. Speak-ing about the ICCT he recom-mended that this be ‘a newiconic building that shouldbe a way of interpreting thetransformation that has hap-pened.’The debate was thrown open

then to the floor to allow theaudience the opportunity tostate their views. This was alively and sometimes contro-versial discussion whichcould have gone on far be-yond our allotted time but fi-nally had to be brought to aclose. In terms of the process ofwidening the debate on thefuture of the LongKesh/Maze site and the es-tablishment of an ICCT, thisseminar was hugely success-ful in achieving that. This article gives only a veryabbreviated flavour of thecontributions made on thatday but, for those interestedin reading more, the PNBteam will be publishing atranscript of the proceedingswhich will be available at alater date. Anyone wishing to receive acopy of that when availableshould contact the Coiste of-fice in Belfast.

CLOCKWISE FROMTOP LEFT: John Ross and Ciaran Mackle,Martina Purdy and Mark Thompson, Mick Beyers and Paul Arthur;Paul Butler, LouisePurbrick and AlanMcBride; Rosie McCorley; Roy Garland andAlan Maitland;Patrick Cooke


8

Roads to Recoverywas the title of aconference organ-ised under Coiste’s

Processes of Nation Building(PNB) programme. The con-ference, held in the SlieveDonard Hotel, Newcastle, CoDown on the 4-5 April,sought to bring together in-dividuals and organisationsworking on behalf of victimsand survivors of the conflictfrom all shades of politicalopinion and none. An invitewas extended to the widestpossible range of groups andwe were delighted with theresponse. The primary purpose of theevent was simply to providea neutral venue where peoplefrom communities across theisland and beyond couldcome together to state howthey have been impacted bythe conflict, what they feel isneeded to assist recovery,and how they may be able toassist others, drawing upontheir own experience. Wedidn’t set out to make anybig statements by the confer-ence or to come up with dra-matic revelations or miraclesolutions. Rather, it was anattempt to simply allow peo-ple from very different polit-ical, religious and culturalbackgrounds to come togeth-er and share with otherstheir very different life expe-riences. To that end the conferenceincluded both a time for pre-sentations and workshopsbut also time for reflectionand casual discussion – anopportunity for people tomeet one another for the firsttime and to do so in the

pleasant surroundings of thebeach front with the MourneMountains in the back-ground. The morning session focusedon the impact the conflicthad on people’s lives and firstspeaker, Wilhelm Verwoerd,gave an excellent presenta-tion that set the mood for theentire conference. Since May2002 Wilhelm has co-ordi-nated the Former Combat-ants Programme at the Glen-cree Centre for Reconcilia-tion, which is aimed at culti-vating relationships betweenall armed parties to the‘Troubles’ and promoting di-alogue between victims/sur-vivors, ex-combatants andthe wider society on the is-lands of Ireland and Britain.This work includes the Glen-cree Sustainable Peace proj-ect (see www.glencree.ie). Be-fore coming to Ireland in2001, as the husband of theSouth African ambassador tothe Republic of Ireland, Wil-helm was a philosophy lec-turer at the University ofStellenbosch. He also servedas a researcher on the SouthAfrican Truth and Reconcili-ation Commission in SouthAfrica and has co-authored,authored and edited a num-ber of books and articles onthe subject. In his address to the confer-ence, Wilhelm spoke of hisown history of growing up inSouth Africa, the grandson of– NAME - most widely recog-nised as the architect of theapartheid regime. Wilhelmtold how as a child he hadbeen taught that his people,the Boers, had been the vic-tims of English Emperialism

and aggression and how asense of victimhood was cul-tivated. What he didn’t learnuntil later years was how thenon-white community hadalso been treated. As he grewand moved to university hecame into contact with thatcommunity who had a verymuch different experience ofSouth Africa than he had andhe struggled with the new

Roads to Recovery

“... a neutralvenuewhere peoplefrom com-munitiesacross theisland andbeyondcould cometogether to statehow theyhave beenimpactedby the conflict”


9

perspectives that challengedhis version of history. Even-tually he himself became amember of Nelson Mandela’sAfrican National Congress(ANC) and this led to seriousrifts within his own familycircle. Now, in present daySouth Africa and theapartheid regime abolished,members of his family whofought for the old regime feelconfused, let down and neg-

lected. It was avery moving ac-count and onewhich promptedmuch discussionin the workshopswhich followed asthe participantssought to explainand explore howthe conflict hadimpacted them ina variety of ways.Feedback from theworkshops was ex-tremely detailedand comprehen-sive as well as var-ied.The afternoon ses-sion had a focuson how we dealwith the impact ofthe conflict andOscar Daly, con-sultant in generaladult psychiatryworking in Lis-burn, gave akeynote address.Since his appoint-ment, in 1990, Os-car has had a par-ticular clinical andresearch interestin the psychologi-cal problems ex-perienced bythose in the Northaffected by theconflict. He hasworked closelywith victims/sur-vivors of the con-flict and has had anumber of publi-cations in thefield. He has beena member of theUK Trauma Groupsince its inceptionin 1995 and amember of boththe Local Health Authority’sTrauma Advisory Panel andTrauma ImplementationGroup. He was the lead au-thor for the development ofguidelines on the manage-ment of post traumatic stressdisorder in adults publishedby the Department of Health,Social Services and PublicSafety in Belfast in 2003 andhas been clinical director for

psychiatry inD o w n - L i s b u r nTrust since Septem-ber 2002.Although very wellqualified in themedical field Oscarbelieves that oftenthe solution to thetrauma experiencedby individuals inconflict and post-conflict situationsis not to be foundin medical reme-dies but instead ina supportive com-munity of family,friends and com-munity. This element of hispresentation strucka chord with manyof the participantsat the conferenceas they havelearned from expe-rience that oftenwhat works best issimply to be therefor people, to pro-vide an ear and re-assurance. Againthe workshops thatfollowed Oscar’spresentation werelively events andfeedback fromthem and the ple-nary session lastedmuch longer thananticipated. As we broke for theevening, the brightspring sunshinethat had filled theconference room allday still shone. Itadded to the senseof hope that per-vaded the gatheringdespite the weighti-ness of the subject

being discussed. That sun-shine was still there the fol-lowing morning when agroup of us walked up a trailin Tullymore Park Forest. Wechatted, told stories, crackedjokes. No labels; just peopletogether enjoying nature andbeing alive. Survivors.(A full report on feedback fromthe conference workshops is cur-rently being prepared by Coiste)

TOP: Enjoying the sunshine in Tullymore Park ForestBOTTOM: A section of the conference participants

Wilhelm Verwoerd

Rosie McCorley

Keli Harrington

Cathy Neilis


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On the 28 March, in conjunctionwith the Belfast Film Festival,Coiste hosted an event in theQueen’s Film Theatre, Belfast. ’81,the excellent short film writtenand directed by Stephen Burke andreleased in 1996 was screened fol-lowed by a panel discussion

chaired by Susan McKay, writer and journalist. Theevent was one of a number organised under Coiste’sPNB programme to examine the events of 1981 andhow the hunger strike impacted upon communities.Séanna Walsh, a personal friend of Bobby Sandsand himself a former prisoner participated on thepanel as did Billy McQuiston, a former loyalist pris-oner. They were joined by Liz Groves of the FallsCommunity Council and Mina Wardle of the ShankillStress Clinic. PNB staff are currently transcribingan audio recording of the event which will be pub-lished later in the year.

The 1981 hunger strike – Impact and Interpretations

ONE of the many children of Republican ex-prisoners who has availed of thechildcare facility in ClonesThe childcare facility in Clones was established by Republican ex-prisoners,particularly Rosena Brown, so that they could avail of childcare while at-tending training courses organised by Fáilte Chluain Eois. It first opened itsdoors on the 19th of June 2000. During the following year the facility beganto attract members from the wider community and we obtained financialsupport for staffing. Local wits soon dubbed the facility ‘Long Crèche’. A capital build project was planned in 2001 to provide an all day childcarecentre and an application was submitted in 2001. To accommodate the facil-ity the decision was taken to purchase an adjoining building known locally as‘The Mansion House’. Although financially straining, our hope is to turn yetanother derelict building in Clones into a vibrant resource for the area.

THE Tar Isteach Youth Project wasestablished to address issues uniqueto the children and young peoplefrom the political ex-prisoner com-munity in the New Lodge area. Aschildren and young people deprivedof one, and sometimes two parentsduring the conflict, we feel a greaterpain and suffering from the last thir-ty-five years than those children andyoung people who have had not hadthe misfortune to lose a parent forimportant periods of their lives.However, Tar Isteach operates anopen door policy as we share life ex-periences common to all youth.Our group consists of 18 young peo-ple from the New Lodge area. Ten of us are children of republicanex-prisoners and six of us are relatedto a republican ex-prisoner. We areaged between eight and sixteen andthere are an equal number of boysand girls. All of us were born in theNew Lodge and have lived there allour lives.The aims of our group are:· To address the disadvantages suf-

fered by our children and youngpeople

· To address the legacy of the con-flict and the impact it has on chil-dren and young people i.e impris-onment, bereavement, displace-ment etc

· To raise awareness around the newmulticultural society and to par-ticipate in programmes with oth-er marginalised groups

· To break the cycles of high unem-ployment, low income, low expec-tations, low self esteem and earlyschool leaving experienced bymany of our young people

Our objectives are:· To meet the needs already articu-

lated by our young people in theareas of identity/cultural identity

· To build their confidence and selfesteem, awareness of equalityand value as citizens through aseries of personal developmentand confidence building pro-grammes

· To involve our children and youngpeople in the design and imple-mentation of all our youth pro-grammes

The major focus of our work is issue-based in that we seek out the par-ticular identified needs of ourgroup and attempt to understandthe unique experiences that haveshaped our lives due to being thechildren of political prisoners.

Many of our group have been direct-ly affected by the consequences ofpolitical conflict in Ireland. The pro-gramme structure of the Tar IsteachYouth Group is broken down into anumber of different headings, suchas Political Development, Environ-mental/Community Pride, Arts, Di-versionary/Team Building and Per-sonal Development.We were overjoyed recently whenwe heard that we had been nominat-ed for an award in community devel-opment and endeavour by Coiste nanIarchimí youth officer, DominicAdams. The nomination was part of TheYoung Citizenship Awards and partof The European Year of Citizenship.Our joy increased when we learnedthat we had been selected to receivethis award.On 14th March 2006, I, on behalf ofthe group collected the award fromPresident Mary McAleese at Áras anUachtaráin. It was a long day but itwas well worth the journey. I hadthe chance to meet other young peo-ple from across Ireland. I also gotthe opportunity to speak one on onewith Mary McAleese and her hus-band, Martin. I was extremely proud to representTar Isteach at the occasion but evenmore proud to represent our parentswho despite all have guided and in-spired us. I hope our group’s successwill be an encouragement to allthose children of republican ex-pris-oners all over Ireland.

Ciara StantonTar Isteach Youth Group

Failte Chluain Eois undetakeextensive childcare project

Tar Isteach Youth Project

TOP (l-R): Laurence McKeown, Susan McKay and Billy McQuistonBOTTOM: Susan McKay and Séanna Walsh


11

To commemorate the 25thanniversary of the 1981Hunger Strike, as well asthe 30th anniversary of the

beginning of the blanket protest,the feature film H3 was re-releasedwith a week long launch at NewryOmniplex 12–18 May.The screenplay, co-written by twomen who together spent nearly aquarter of a century imprisoned inLong Kesh, tells the story of the H-Block struggle, the most remarkableprison protest in history. LaurenceMcKeown spent 16 years in the H-Blocks, 4? of them on the blanketprotest and 70 days on hungerstrike, while Brian Campbell,who died tragically last year,spent 7? years in the H-Blocks,from 1986-1993.H3 brings to life the unbeliev-able existence of the blanketmen- the horrific conditions of damp,filthy cells with walls smatteredin shite, as well as the momentsof camaraderie and craic, thesing songs, story telling andblack humor. In this way thefilm documents not only theevents leading up to the hungerstrikes but also republican cul-ture. All revolutionary move-ments have a revolutionary cul-ture and the republican move-ment is no exception. Expres-sions of this distinct culture canbe found in various creativeforms such as poems, plays, mu-sic, literature as well as film.These expressions contradict thestereotypical depictions of volun-teers as hard individuals with noemotions and no thoughts otherthan of armed struggle. By exten-sion, creative art forms serve tocounteract the distortion the gov-ernment and media exercise intheir treatment of marginalizedpeoples and their political struggles.For revolutionary movements themedium of film is a tremendous re-source which presents a fuller pic-ture of the conditions and strugglesof oppressed peoples. In H3 the fullbrutalities of the prison guards andBritish administration are revealed,as well as the courage, convictionand heroism of the political prison-ers. As an educational resource filmis capable of going further than oth-

er educational materials in the abil-ity to recreate events and revealemotions. As such revolutionaryfilms can generate a spirited aware-ness in those who did not directlyexperience oppressive measures orwho were too young to remembersuch events. In this way featurefilms produced with the intentionof sharing the politic and perspec-tive of those voices previously si-lenced can be a vital catalyst forraising awareness and politiciza-tion. For this rich medium govern-ments have little use; they cannot

face the truths that revolutionaryfilm reveals. Gerry Kelly MLA, whoparticipated in poetry workshopswhilst imprisoned in Long Keshand later had a book of poems pub-lished, understands the utility ofsuch cultural, artistic expressions tothe larger republican struggle, “Asactive republicans we know whatour policies, strategies, and tacticsare, however struggle to bringabout wide-sweeping change with-in society must of necessity involvea cultural component and we needto disseminate republican thoughtsand ideals through a range of me-dia. H3 is excellent for that purpose. Youidentify with the characters. Youstart to see life through their eyesand involve yourself in the debatesthey are having - as well as the jokes

and the banter. You’re there in themiddle of the H-Blocks with them.You laugh with them. You feel fearwith them. Anyone who hasn’t seenthe film should go and see it. Any-one who has seen it should go againjust to remind themselves what itwas all about and what we camethrough.”Having invested seven years in thecreation of H3 Laurence McKeownunderstands too well the economicdifficulties that arise from trying toproduce and distribute a film of thisnature. However McKeown feels it

well worth the effort, “You go andwatch a documentary about Cu-ba, of Fidel and Che in the SierraMaestra, and you’re intrigued bywhat is before your eyes. Youwatch a film such as the Battle ofAlgiers and you immediately re-late to the anti-colonial struggle itdepicts and the challenges facingthe insurrectionists there, so to beable to go into the Omniplex cin-ema in Newry and watch on thebig screen a film about the blan-ket protest and hunger strikeswritten by republicans in thecourse of our struggle is a signifi-cant indicator of just what can beachieved if we put our minds toit.”In 2001 H3 premiered at The Gal-way Film Festival to critical ac-claim. One film critic wrote, “H3is a cry from the heart that tran-scends the party political to em-

brace the truly human.” The IrishTimes described it as, “An accom-plished, emotionally powerful dra-ma.” And actor Martin Sheen(Apocalypse Now) noted H3 is, “Agreat film”.In 2002 H3 won the award for bestscreenplay at the Avanca Film Fes-tival (Portugal) in addition to theprestigious Gold Rosa CamunaAward from the Bergamo FilmMeeting (Italy). Following the ex-ample of those in Newry/South Ar-magh, anyone interested in havingthe film screened in their local cin-ema should approach venue man-agers to make arrangements andthen contact Brendan (Bik) McFar-lane of the 1981 25th AnniversaryCommittee on 02890 740817 to ob-tain a film reel.

Mick Beyers

H3 - the republican prison struggle on film

12


As we set off for Ti Chulainn from the Coiste Offices in Beechmount Avenue on Wednesdaymorning, 19th April, the sun was shining bright. I watched the excited faces of those childrenfor whom this was their first residential. Others, those more experienced in such matters, tookit in their stride. We journeyed onwards and within an hour the green hills of South Armaghwere replacing the brick and concrete buildings of Belfast. As we hopped off the bus at TiChulainn Heritage and Cultural Centre, Margaret was there to greet us, and shortly after-wards the Dundalk, Tyrone, Armagh, Newry and Derry contingents arrived in also. 35 chil-dren from 10 to 17 years of age (the majority directly related to republican ex-prisoners) and

Coiste youth - re-writingthe 1916 Proclamation


13

8 leaders were there to discussthe 1916 Easter Proclamationand events of the Easter Ris-ing. Before this however,Conor Murphy, MP for Newryand South Armagh, formallywelcomed us all with a tale ofSeteanta and the Red BranchKnights. When Conor had fin-ished, we split into twogroups, 10 to 13 year olds and14 to 17 year olds. The oldergroup’s first task was to studythe Proclamation. Kevin Mur-phy, an Irish history teachertook over for this. He gave out 2 copies of theProclamation. One copy con-tained the full text and theother had certain words miss-

ing from the text. The mean-ings of the missing words wereexplained in the context of thelanguage of 90 years ago beingdifferent from the language oftoday. Words like ‘rapine’, ‘au-gust’ and ‘unfettered control’had their meanings explainedand the group was encouragedto replace the missing wordswith some of their own.Kevin went on to describe howthe Proclamation was writtenand the influences of theFrench and American revolu-tions on the Proclamation’s au-thors. The huge task undertak-en to have it printed in timefor Pearse to read on the stepsof the GPO in Dublin was also

described. While the proclamation wasbeing ‘re-written’ the youngergroup began the painting ofimages connected to the Ris-ing. Split into groups of twoand three and armed withbrushes, paints and papersthey set about re-creating Con-nolly and Pearse. The GPO wasprojected onto the wall andcopied onto large sheets ofcard. Tricolours and FiannaFlags adorned the images thekids produced. As the grouppainted, Rosena rushed fromchild to child, all the while en-couraging them and regalingthem with tales of how sheand Countess Markiewicz

CLOCKWISEFROM TOP LEFT:Organisers andparticipants atthe residential;Conor Murphy,MP for Newryand South Armagh, talksto the youngpeople;on the tour ofKilmainham


14

fought side by side in the GPO!Thursday morning we were onthe bus again. This time forDublin and Kilmainham Gaol.Again the sun was shining aswe entered the building inwhich the leaders of the Risingand signatories of the Procla-mation had been imprisonedand executed. I studied thefaces of the children as theyheard the stories fromMícheál, our tour guide, ofhow young people, the sameages as themselves, were im-prisoned for ‘crimes’ such asstealing an apple in order tosave one from going hungry.He also describe in graphic de-tail how one of the Easter 1916leaders, James Connolly, un-able to walk, was carried on astretcher to the courtyard, tiedto a chair and shot dead.We then headed off to PhoenixPark for lunch. All around usgroups of young people of dif-ferent races played soccer andthrew Frisbees to one another.Vastly different from the Ire-land of 1916 but another exam-ple of the multi cultural socie-ty that Ireland is now becom-ing. The line from the Procla-mation regarding ‘cherishingall of the children of the na-tion equally’ came to mindwhen a black couple passed bypushing their baby in a pram.Would the child’s parents besubject to deportation if theywere found to have enteredIreland illegally? Would thechild be deprived of her par-ents? Would she be discrimi-nated against because of hercolour? Soon after this we headed offto Trinity College and met upwith Dublin tour guide, ShaneMacThomais. He took us ashort tour of Dublin city cen-tre encompassing sites rele-vant to the Rising. The story ofthe 1913 Lock Out was told atthe statue of Jim Larkin beforewe headed into the GPO. Aswe looked out the large win-dows onto O’Connell Street Shane de-scribed how Connolly had hisankle shattered by a bulletwound on the first day of theRising and how he command-

ed the Volunteers from astretcher. As the fighting en-sued and Dublin buildingsburned, the Volunteers evacu-ated the GPO before surren-dering to British forces inMoore Street – not more thana few hundred yards from theGPO. We walked there next,the site of a a very busy mar-ket area where the smell offresh fish and fruit combine toovertake your senses, Shanedescribed how a young womanof 17, Elizabeth O’Farrell car-ried the letter of surrenderfrom Pearse to the BritishCommander. She then carriedit round the various volunteerpositions in order that thosecommanders would accept its

authenticity.“Why are there no statues tothis woman or streets namedafter her?” asked Shane of thekids. A voice at the back shout-ed out, “Because she was awoman!”Back in Tí Chulainn that nightthe most enjoyable part of theresidential took place. Áine, anIrish dance teacher, taught usthe céilí dance, ‘The Walls OfLimerick’. After many attemptswe had it mastered and off wewent. Young and old(er) danc-ing hand in hand. The soundof feet tapping coupled withlaughter.The session continued withthe kids taking it upon them-selves to perform their ownacts. Fionnuala and Caoil-fhionn sang and danced to ‘I’lltell my Ma’. Fiachra recited po-etry as Aodháin played herfeadóg stáin. Donal and Eoinperformed the West/NorthBelfast Rap. Aoife slipped outfor band practice and on herreturn entertained us withseveral tunes from her flutewhile Eugene sang his heartout. Brilliant craic throughoutand smiling faces everywhere!The following morning it wastime for an input of a differentsort. Andrew Rawding, a for-mer British soldier once basedin South Armagh, had agreedto come along and discuss theProclamation from the pointof view of a non-Irish nationalnow living in Ireland. The dis-cussion was civil and courte-ous. Andrew said his piece in aforthright and honest fashion.The kids replied in an equallyforthright and honest fashionand such was the enthusiasmdisplayed that the discussionran over its allotted time andwe had to cut it short.As we packed our bags ontothe bus to head home, the kidshugged each other and ex-changed phone numbers.Friendships had been madeand memories formed. A veryworthwhile venture by Coistena nIarchimí.

Dominic AdamsCoiste Youth Outreach Worker

TOP:in Phoenix ParkCENTREAND BOTTOM:completingthe art work at Tí Chulainn


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On Monday evening, 24 April, Coiste hostedan event in Clonard monastery as part ofCommunity Relations Week. Organised un-der Coiste’s PNB programme the theme was‘spirituality and religion’ - a topic that hadarisen during engagements between formerrepublican prisoners and Church members.Mike Ritchie, Director of Coiste, began the

discussion with an account of his upbringing with the Scot-tish Presbyterian Church and his early life abroad, in Aden,Egypt and Kenya where his parents worked as missionaries.Sister Majella McCarron spoke of her work in Nigeria overthe past three decades and her close personal friendship with

author and poet, Ken Sira Wiwa who was executed by theNigerian authorities. Jenny Meegan, a lay preacher with theMethodist Church for the past 40 years, gave an account ofher experience of working within the prisons as a universitylecturer and how she found spirituality in the writings ofprisoners which contrasted sharply with the criticisms pris-oners had of organised religions. Father Gerry Reynolds, based in Clonard monastery, told ofhis early days in the 1980s coming to Belfast and of the painhe felt at the division between those who profess the sameChristian beliefs. All accounts were extremely moving andthe points raised by the speakers taken up by the audience inthe discussion that continued.

Spirituality and religionMike Ritchie, Sr Majella McCarron, Jenny Meegan, Fr Gerry Reynolds and Rosie McCorley

Community Relations Week


2

COISTE.COMM

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WORKING FOR THE REPUBLICAN EX-PRISONER COMMUNITYCoiste na n-Iarchimi is financially supported by the European Union Peace 11 Programme through the Community Foundation for

Northern Ireland, Area Development Management/Combat Poverty Agency and Co-operation Ireland. It is also supported by the Department for Social & Community & Family Affairs, Dublin.

Coiste Head Office Coiste Dublin Office

Contact persons; Mike Ritchie, Micheal Culbert, Contact persons; Ann o'Sullivan, Pat Hayes

Angela McEvoy, Laurence McKeown, Address- Dominick Court

Rosie McCorley,Rosena Brown, Dominic Adams, 40-41 Lower Dominick Street

Caoimhin MacGiolla Mhín Tel-003531 8733199 Fax-003531 8782355

Address- 10 Beechmount Avenue, Belfast Bt 12 7NA

Tel- (028) 90200770 Fax-(028) 90435445

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.coiste.ie

CONTACTDETAILS

Abhaile ArisContact persons; Neil GallagherAddress-8 Church St, Letterkenny, Co, DonegalTel-00353 749128610 Fax-00353 749128609

Ar Ais Aris, Dungannon Contact person; Sean McGuigan Address-60b Irish St, Dungannon Co TyroneTel & Fax- 028 87727128

South Derry ex PrisonersContact person: Ian MilneAddress-79 Quarry Road, Gulladuff,Magherafelt, Co Derry, BT45 8 NTTel-028-79644550 Fax- 028 79549659

Cairde, StrabaneContact persons; Jarlath McNulty, Donna McColgan Address-12a Bridge St, Strabane, Co Tyrone Tel&Fax- 028 71886824

Castlereagh Prison Contact person; Kevin WalshAddress-Co Roscommon

Cumann na Meirleach Contact persons; Fred Loye, Ewan Morgan, Sean MathersAddress-Ti Chulainn, Bog Rd, An Mullach Ban, Co ArmaghTel-028 30886691 Fax- 028 30886692

Failte Abhaille DundalkContact person; Kevin MulgrewAddress-79b Bridge St Dundalk, Co LouthTel- 0035342 9352158 Fax-0035342 8352159

Failte Cluain Eois Contact person; Sharon MurphyAddress- The Diamond Clones, Co Monaghan.Tel- 003534752540 Fax- 0035347 52541

Portlaoise PrisonContact person; Niall Binead

Iar-Chimi Fhear ManaghContact Person; Donal O CobhaighAddress; 5 Market St, Enniskillen BT 74 7DS Co FermanaghTel&Fax- 029 66324497

La NuaContact persons; Adrian Barry Martin KennyAddress; 7 Main St, Ballinamore, Co LeitrimTel-003537196 45748 Fax 719645829

Marrowbone Ex-Prisoner GroupContact persons; Christine Beattie, Patsy GodfreyAddress- 253 Oldpark Rd, Belfast BT146QRTel&Fax- 028 90741876

Tar Abhaile, DerryContact person; Joanne McDaidAddress- 1 Westend Park, Derry BT48 9JF Tel&Fax- 028 71266675

Tar Anall, BelfastContact person: Caral Ni ChuilinAddress- Conway Mill, 5-7 Conway St, Belfast BT13Tel- 028 90323631 Fax- 028 90323629

Tar Isteach, Belfast Contact person; Tommy Quigley Address- 133 Hillman St, Belfast 15 2FXTel-028 90746664

Video Tar Isteach, Dublin Contact persons; Gay ClearyAddress- 40-42 Dominick St Dublin 1Tel- 00351 8782301

Tus Nua Sligo Contact persons; Sean or Chris McManusAddress- 50 Lower John St; Sligo Tel&Fax- 0035371 9141443

Documents

the development of Maze/Long Kesh PAGE 5 See page 15 ... · tle or no hassle from their local Social Security Office. As the course progressed some participants felt unable to continue