Could a new journey towards greater respect start at Grand Central?

Noel Doran, Irish News, May 5th, 2025

ON A PLEASANT, sunny afternoon last week, Grand Central Station in Belfast did not look much like the scene of a dispute which some shrill voices have claimed should lead to the suspension of the Stormont power-sharing structures.

It is an extremely large complex, hosting bus and train services within a bland and functional atmosphere, which was presumably the intention of its designers when it opened eight months ago at a cost of £350m.

I have passed through it on a number of occasions, but, in light of all the angry statements circulating in recent weeks, I took the opportunity to have a slightly more detailed look around while heading to an engagement in Dublin.

Legitimate issues have been raised about access difficulties, and it remains baffling that Ireland’s largest integrated transport facility could be launched without proper arrangements for arriving and departing taxis as well as the basic amenity of a cycle rack.

Building Site approach

The approach on foot from the main thoroughfare of Great Victoria Street still necessitates negotiating a sprawling building site before reaching a concourse which is largely devoid of internal characteristics which would identify it with the city of Belfast.

There was a small but well-presented photographic exhibition in one corner, featuring present-day transport staff cheerfully going about their duties, while the slightly puzzling but inoffensive imagery on an exterior wall seemed like something of an afterthought.

A strong case remains for the provision of striking and appropriate public artwork, although it is perhaps understandable that the authorities have so far avoided any related decisions which might attract further political commentary.

What has all the appearance of a contrived argument has surrounded the belated scheme for dual language signage of the kind which is commonplace in Scotland and Wales but apparently regarded as a threat to the union by some in Belfast.

It was noticeable that the initial Tannoy greeting on the Enterprise in Grand Central Station was in Irish, with a few English words following, and accidentally or otherwise the opposite policy was followed in Connolly Station on the return journey. No-one seemed to mind in any event.

“Grand Central Station, placed between loyalist Sandy Row and the nationalist Grosvenor Road, could in some ways come to symbolise our wider transformation, but only if we concentrate on extending respect to all sections of our divided society

My trip to Dublin was unremarkable and precisely on time throughout, giving me the opportunity to reflect on other journeys I made along part of the same line while working in Co Antrim more than four decades ago.

Attack victim

The 4.55pm from Ballymena passed through Antrim town, where I routinely boarded, and Lisburn on its way to Belfast back then, although it follows a different route these days, and I was on nodding terms with the other daily commuters on what was a small, two-carriage train, separated into smoking and non-smoking sections. January 17 1980 turned out to be an unexpectedly quiet day in our weekly newspaper office, with a couple of possible stories falling through, and a senior colleague suggested that, with our latest edition already in the shops, I should go home an hour earlier than normal. While I returned to the city without incident, two IRA members got on the next train at Dunmurry, with the ludicrously risk-filled plan of leaving a bomb attached to a timer and a petrol can under a seat, disembarking at the next stop and telephoning in a warning to The Samaritans.

The device exploded as soon as they attempted to prime it, with devastating consequences for everyone present as what was effectively a huge fireball was blasted along the non-smoking section where I usually sat. Three people were killed instantly – one of the IRA members, Kevin Delaney (26), a 17-year-old schoolboy, Mark Cochrane, and a 35-yearold Nigerian-born accountant, Max Olorunda – with five others in the carriage, including the second IRA member, suffering grave injuries.

A friend who had been passing through Ballymena station subsequently told me that the 4.55 was already pulling out when Mr Olorunda ran in a few seconds late, but he managed to attract the attention of the staff who stopped it further along the platform, allowing him to jump on after he gratefully shook hands with the guard. The following day, a conductor on the same train whispered that he had given my description as a regular passenger to police who were attempting to identify the charred remains of those caught in the inferno. I often think about the dead on the 4.55 from Ballymena, and how easily I might have joined them, as well as considering all the others who lost their lives in the course of the Troubles of the last 50 years and beyond.

Grand Central Station, placed between loyalist Sandy Row and the nationalist Grosvenor Road, could in some ways come to symbolise our wider transformation since then, but only if we concentrate on extending respect to all sections of our divided society. It should not be too much to ask.

First and Deputy First Ministers attend annual VE Day commemoration

Liam Tunney, Belfast Telegraph, May 5th, 2025

Michelle O'Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly attended the annual Victory in Europe (VE) Day commemoration at St Anne's Cathedral on Sunday.

The First and Deputy Deputy First Ministers sat together at the event to mark 80 years since the formal acceptance by the Allies of Germany's unconditional surrender in World War Two.

The service was hosted by His Majesty's Lord Lieutenant of the County Borough of Belfast, Dame Fionnuala Jay-O'Boyle, and the Dean of Belfast, the Very Reverend Stephen Forde.

Dame Maria Eagle MP was also present, as well as DUP leader Gavin Robinson and his wife Lindsay.

In the order of service, the Lord Lieutenant said: “The unrestrained joy that brought tens of thousands of people onto Belfast's streets and across Northern Ireland on May 8, 1945 was at least, in part, a release of the fear and grief that had so characterised the years since the outbreak of war in 1939,” she said.

“No one was unaffected, and freedom, independence and the preservation of democracy had been achieved at a hugely high cost.

“At this challenging time for Europe and the world, it is entirely right that we remember with proud sorrow the sacrifice of all who endured the vicissitudes of the Second World War, but imperative also that we reflect on our common purpose as a nation, as individuals and within our own communities. Each of us has a role to play.”

Free Presbyterian Minister says Pope Francis ‘was most certainly an antichrist’

By Allan Preston, Irish News, May 5th, 2025

A Free Presbyterian minister in Co Down has said that he makes no apology for stating that Pope Francis “was most certainly an antichrist”. Rev Daniel Henderson of Moneyslane Presbyterian Church made the comments during a sermon the day following the pontiff’s funeral in Rome.

Advertising the sermon online - ‘Was Francis an antichrist?’ - the livestreamed service also took aim at other Protestant churches and King Charles for their “wishy-washy” statements of sympathy following the 88-year-old’s death last month.

Rev Henderson, who is originally from Liverpool, told the congregation he was not against Catholics and that his own mother was a previous member of the church, but that he believed successive popes had led “millions” to hell.

His main objection was the “blasphemous” belief of Catholics that the Pope is God’s representative on earth.

“I make no apology in saying that Francis was most certainly an antichrist,” Rev Henderson said during this service.

“Francis was when he was in this office, and no doubt the next individual that will be elected to that office of Pope, claims to be the spiritual father of every man, woman, boy, girl upon the face of the earth whether they like it or not.”

He continued: “The Roman antichrist has truly deceived many, countless millions over the centuries have been sent to a lost eternity in hell for evermore due to the influence of Rome upon their lives.

“The Roman Catholic is not to be hated, they are to be pitied and loved…there is apparently 1.4bn Roman Catholics in this world and they all are in need of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Questioning the Presbyterian Church of Ireland’s decision to issue a statement of condolence for Pope Francis, Rev Henderson said: “I tell you the Lord Jesus Christ is not in mourning over the death of his enemy this evening.”

Towards the end of the service, he said: “Let me ask you another question, does the late Pope’s legacy inspire you? Well I hope not, if it does you may be in the wrong church tonight.”

‘Relic of another time’

Michael Kelly, Director of Public Affairs for the papal charity Aid to the Church in Need, which was headed by Pope Francis, told The Irish News that Rev Henderson’s views were a relic of another time.

“I think these comments are extremely distasteful from anyone who would present themselves as a Christian leader,” he said.

“The death of Pope Francis was mourned by Catholics, and all people of good will – from all religious traditions and none – across the globe. He brought out what was best in people, and presented the loving face of Christ to people, and emphasises what united us rather than what separates us.”

He continued: “There is so much division and anger in our world today, Pope Francis with his humility and the frailty of his health in his last days offered a strong counter-balance to the ‘might is right’ strongman approach to world affairs.

“Many times, I’ve been ashamed to be from the north of Ireland as I have looked on aghast as people in leadership positions chose hate over love.”

Mr Kelly said he had been “extremely proud” to see political leaders from Protestant traditions, including the DUP leader Gavin Robinson and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, paying tributes to the Pope.

“It may seem small to people from other places, but in the context of our history of sectarianism it was a huge step forward and those political leaders deserve great credit for their kindness and generosity is expressing warmth and solidarity as the Catholic community mourn the man who was truly our Holy Father,” he said.

“Thankfully the sentiments expressed in the sermon represent now an extreme minority view, and one that is becoming more marginal by the day,” he said.

In 1988, the Free Presbyterian Church founder Ian Paisley famously staged a protest during a visit from Pope John Paul II to the European parliament where he also called the pontiff an antichrist.

The Free Presbyterian Church founder, Rev Ian Paisley, famously called Pope John Paul II the antichrist during a visit to the European Parliament in 1988.

“The united voices in the assembly represent the transformation that has occurred in the north of Ireland, and fringe voices reminiscent of a dark past don’t hold much sway nowadays,” Mr Kelly said.

“It’s a sobering reminder of the sort of rhetoric that fuelled violence and hatred in the past in this place – but authentic Christian people know the truth of the Gospel: love always conquers hate.”

Bobby Sands statue unveiled to mark anniversary of IRA hunger striker's death

Cate McCurry, Belfast Telegraph, May 5th, 2025

MICHELLE O'NEILL AND GERRY ADAMS AT COMMEMORATION FOR HUNGER STRIKER

A statue has been unveiled in memory of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands in Belfast, marking the 44th anniversary of his death.

The statue of the former MP was revealed at the republican memorial garden in Twinbrook.

Sands, a father-of-one, died on May 5 during the 1981 prison fast when he was 27.

Seven IRA prisoners and three from the INLA died during the hunger strike.

Their aim was to force Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's government to recognise them as political prisoners. Sands was the first to refuse food in March 1981 and the first to starve to death after 66 days.

First Minister Michelle O'Neill and former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams were among those to attend the event.

Ms O'Neill, who also attended a VE memorial service in Belfast yesterday, posted on the X platform later that she had been “honoured to speak with members of the community who helped make this powerful tribute a reality”.

“Bobby's life and sacrifice continues to inspire people here in Ireland and across the world in pursuit of freedom and justice,” she added.

“I will continue to work to build a new and united Ireland for everyone who calls this island home.”

Heroism and Sacrifice

Sinn Fein MLA Pat Sheehan, the main speaker at the event, said: “By their heroism and sacrifice, Bobby and the other hunger strikers ensured that the cause of Irish freedom was renewed, and now in 2025 we are closer than ever to undoing the justice of partition and reuniting our country.

“Their bravery set in motion a series of events that makes a momentum for political and social change unstoppable and irreversible.

“That momentum will carry us forward to the realisation of an Irish national democracy, a Republic where the rights and identity of all our people of whatever persuasion or background will be accommodated and cherished.

“Bobby didn't die just to prove he was right.

“He had a vision and a belief and an idea that his suffering and death would lead to a better world for the rest of us, and today, we are in a better place.

“We no longer need or expect our young men and women to risk their lives in liberty on active service or the hunger strike in prison cells. And that's not to say there isn't work to be done.

“We need to redouble our efforts, and all of us put our shoulders to the wheel. Irish unity is not inevitable. We need to make it happen.

“Forty-four years after his death in the H-Blocks, Bobby Sands' name lives on.”

The West Belfast MLA said that Sands should not be remembered as a hunger striker only.

“Like all of us, he was multi-faceted,” he added.

“He was a loving father of an eight-year-old son, and also a loving son and brother. Bobby was a friend and comrade to many. He was a community activist, particularly here in Twinbrook between his two periods of imprisonment.

“He was a musician, a songwriter, a poet and a prolific writer. He was a Gaeilgeoir. Bobby was a blanket man, a political prisoner of war, a socialist, a leader, a revolutionary, a volunteer of Oglaigh na hEireann.

“Bobby Sands was a young man who resisted until his last breath. He was our hunger striker. He is our hero.”

Sinn Féin to complain about DUP’s ‘bigotry’ in street signs row

Michael Kenwood, Irish News, May 5th, 2025

Isoline Street in east Belfast is among the latest crop of streets where applications have been made to survey residents over installing new bilingual signage.

SINN Féin is to lodge a formal complaint against DUP Belfast councillors over what the party has called “absolute bigotry” towards the Irish language.

The claim was made at a recent meeting of Belfast City Council, after a DUP proposal that surveys over dual language street signs featuring Irish should not go ahead in five east Belfast streets and one in the south of the city.

DUP councillors also suggested that the applications for bilingual signs in Mount Merrion Avenue, Isoline Street, Onslow Gardens, Lismain Street, Loopland Drive and Kimberley Street should be closed.

Under the council’s controversial policy introduced in 2022, residents of a street are surveyed if just one resident or councillor applies for a consultation on a new sign.

The previous threshold to trigger a consultation was 33.3% of residents, while a new sign required the backing of 66.6% of those surveyed.

Now just 15% of residents are required to back a sign before it is agreed.

Regarding the east Belfast streets, DUP councillor Davy Douglas proposed overriding the decision to survey residents agreed by the council’s People and Communities Committee.

A recent council report on the applications stated that following initial assessments, “potential adverse impacts were identified” before draft equality screenings were carried out.

This identified that both surveying residents and erecting signs featuring Irish “has the potential to give rise to community tension”.

Tension or diversity?

However, the screenings also identified that the process could “assist in promoting cultural and linguistic diversity”.

A DUP proposal to block surveys for Mount Merrion Avenue and Isoline Street had failed in a vote at the committee.

Councillor Douglas’s proposal was backed by party colleagues along with the UUP and TUV, but failed following opposition from Sinn Féin, Alliance, the SDLP, the Green Party, and People Before Profit.

Once again, the DUP is challenging anything Irish – this is every single meeting

Sinn Féin councillor Ciaran Beattie said: “Once again, the DUP is challenging anything Irish – this is every single meeting.

“If that was any other party challenging another nationality constantly, what would that be called? It is racism, and it is constant. Look at the amount of money that has been spent in call-ins around the Irish language.”

Councillor Beattie said his party would be “pulling that data together” as “we are at a point now where we are going to lodge a formal complaint”.

Culture Wars

“We think this is biased, we think it is discriminatory, and it is no longer acceptable,” he said, adding that he believed it breached the council’s rules on offensive expression.

“It is grossly offensive, when people are attacking my culture, background and indigenous language,” he said.

“We will be lodging that complaint with the Chief Executive and the City Solicitor.”

Councillor Beattie requested a report be brought before the council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee on the number of challenges relating to the Irish language and the cost of call-ins.

“We think this is absolute bigotry,” he added.

DUP councillor Sarah Bunting requested the same report include how much is spent by the council on Irish language signs and “Irish cultural activities”.

Her DUP colleague Tracy Kelly said: “I don’t have a problem with the Irish language, nobody does. What we have a problem with is it being forced into communities and streets where it is not wanted.”

She added: “We are well aware of the history of the (Irish) language, there is Irish on orange banners -there are Protestants who speak it, and we don’t need to be lectured on that. We just don’t want it forced into unionist areas.”

'Northern Ireland is a tribal society’ says Bishop of Derry

Garrett Hargan, Belfast Telegraph, May 5th, 2025

BISHOP OF DERRY DONAL MCKEOWN BELIEVES THAT THE ONGOING DIVISION IN SOCIETY IS TO THE BENEFIT OF SOME PEOPLE WHILE HE INSISTS THAT DUE TO CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS THE GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT IS NOW OUTDATED

The Good Friday Agreement is “outdated”, Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown has said, as he pointed to entrenched sectarianism and the “reality of people who like to promote tribalism” in Northern Ireland.

Addressing the prospect of a united Ireland, the Church leader said there is a challenge for politicians north and south to convince the population of how a change to the border would not only benefit the economy, but improve the “quality of life” for those currently on the margins of society.

Growing up as part of a “big clan” in a mixed rural community in Randalstown, Bishop McKeown spent most of his life east of the Bann but now has a great fondness for Derry and its people, having spent 11 years in the north west.

“Derry is, somebody said to me, a good fit for you. It's big enough to have variety: tourism, culture, a local radio station, all of those things, there's a strong sense of local identity, and yet there's a strong sense of being a big village,” he said.

The 75-year-old is “remarkably happy” with numbers attending Mass in Derry, he said, with “plenty of green shoots. coming through young people, which reflects what's happening in a number of European countries”.

The cloud of historical institutional abuse does however still hang over the Church. Survivors are adamant that Churches should provide compensation but reports say they have not been cooperative.

Given the Catholic Church is known to have sold off assets, the bishop accepted “some parishes do have money” but said those who suffered were in institutions run by religious congregations who are charities in their own rights and “each section of the Church has to be responsible for its own area”.

Pressed on whether the Derry Diocese is fulfilling its responsibilities by ensuring institutions do contribute to a compensation scheme, he added that there are “certainly plenty of meetings that go on to ensure that we can face these realities together without damning anyone”.

He is of the view that “throwing money at something doesn't solve all the problems” and said the Church has spent “millions providing counselling for people”.

Proud of cross-community relations between Churches in Derry, Bishop McKeown said he is “standing on the shoulders” of past leaders such as Bishop Edward Daly and Bishop James Mehaffey. They were founder members of the Inner City Trust — a charity first set up to drive the reconstruction of bombed-out buildings in the city centre.

Those inter-religious connections remain strong to this day with Bishop McKeown and Church of Ireland Bishop Andrew Forster using their influence to speak out against a recent upsurge in sectarian violence between young people in Derry.

Recent tensions

Tensions which sources said have been simmering in the Waterside, spilled over last weekend when two Catholic boys were viciously attacked — an incident captured on phone video.

It sparked a feud between rival gangs in Catholic and Protestant communities with a spike in anti-social behaviour and criminal damage — TikTok now used as a virtual battleground for disillusioned young people to goad one another.

Bishop McKeown remarked on the persistent scourge of sectarianism in Northern Ireland. The Bishop referred to a book by Professor John Brewer on anti-Catholicism in Ireland in 1600-1988, which theorised that sectarianism is “a resource which exists because it benefits some people”.

He added: “Somebody is riding on the back of anger and John Brewer is saying it's a resource, we have to not just ask about who's doing things, who's stoking the fires that allows that to happen, that doesn't condemn that happening.

“Northern Ireland is still a tribal society, and in a democracy you need the tribal vote to come out.

“I'm not saying that the big parties are actually encouraging it, but certainly there's always somebody who's not complaining when that happens.”

He added: “Now, gangs happen. There's the gangs in New York, there's the gangs in Cape Town, there's gangs everywhere, and that's almost a default position for some young people.

“But I think we have to have people in our society who are saying, 'this is not helping you'. It's disappointing, but we want to have a city here that's proud of its past and looks forward to the future.

“It's dangerous, because people get hurt. And it's very divisive, particularly at this stage of the year as we're looking forward into the summer.”

Encouraging people to move away from sectarianism and build a better future, he said Derry has “huge indigenous resources of self-respect, of culture, of identity, of belonging, of community, of compassion, and we can bring those to the table.”

Many people in Derry feel the promised peace dividend has been non-existent.

Commenting on the Good Friday Agreement and constitutional future of the island, Bishop McKeown said: “I keep saying, the war is over here but the conflict is alive and well, there is still the battle over where Northern Ireland's future lies. Is it within the UK? Is it within a united Ireland? And that struggle continues.

“Well, I think certainly the Good Friday Agreement is now 26 years, 27 years old. It was based on the concept of there being Catholics and Protestants. Everyone fell into that category. But if you weren't in that category… that's outdated.

“Much of the legislation on sectarianism is outdated in terms of assuming that if you're attacked for your political views, it's religious discrimination, it's that Catholic or Protestant label that's there.

“I think certainly we have to look and see, particularly post-Brexit, how we can do the best for people in this part of the island and then the whole question of united Ireland, in some ways, if it doesn't improve life for Ballyfermot and Ballymurphy (deprived areas South and North) — then you can change borders all you want…”

He continued: “I think our job as Churches would be to challenge politicians to look at more than economics, because if we have an economically successful system where large number of people are dying from suicide and addiction, just measuring GNP (Gross National Product) as a sign of how civilised a society we are is a very limited parameter to measure all of those things.

“I think we'd challenge politicians by saying, how would any change in the Irish border actually improve the quality of life? Not the income, but the quality of life for those who are currently losing out in a heavily capitalist or capitalism-dominated society.

“How do we make sure that those who are left behind are included, I think Pope Francis wanted to include those who were left behind.”

Education under funding hurting North West

On the issue of a lack of education funding in the city, he commented on the fact St Eugene's Primary School's application for a roofing scheme in 2017 had been overlooked. That has left the junior school building condemned with young people now accommodated in a hut.

He said: “Certainly a school that's unusable because the roof is leaking has to be a number one priority. It can't be further down the list.”

Another school he's well acquainted with, Bunscoil Cholmcille, has been stuck in temporary huts for 30 years which are now disintegrating due to a maintenance backlog of £1.4m. Bishop McKeown said the school which has been seeking a new-build for many years is in a “shocking condition”.

He explained that the department wants the city to “rationalise” its Irish language offering. However, he views bilingualism as “very valuable” and said schools want to expand their contribution to Irish language education, adding, there's a demand for it and high quality Irish language teachers graduating from major universities.

Asked if the best way to bring young people from different backgrounds together is through integrated education, the Bishop is unconvinced. He said: “We have to maximise the number of people from different backgrounds, whether they're racial backgrounds, religious backgrounds, whether they're grammar school and secondary schools, which can be a big divide as well.”

He said “a good number of the most integrated schools are Catholic schools”, to the example St Joseph's Boys' School in Creggan having a Muslim head boy in recent years and St Eugene's PS receiving a racial equality award for “welcoming diversity”.

In a society where housing tends to be segregated, the Bishop said there wouldn't be many unionists living in Creggan which makes integration difficult.

He praised the standard of secondary education in the city but said opportunities dry up for young people in the north west whenever they leave school. Ulster University's Magee campus is in a state of transition and unlike Belfast or a place like Mid-Ulster there is no industrial base that is needed to “encourage young creative people to stay here”.

Painfully slow wheels of justice in the North add to Kingsmill suffering

Máiría Cahill, Sunday Independent, May 4th, 2025

"When they massacred the ten linen workers/There fell on the road beside them spectacles/Wallets, small change, and a set of dentures:/Blood, food particles, the bread, the wine”

Michael Longley's poem, The Linen Workers, cleverly symbolised a rupturing of life with scattered death, a disruption of the ordinary, depicting one huge freeze-frame of chaos. We can identify with that. The alternative, to describe the slaughter exactly, is beyond most of our processing abilities.

Among the other items that lay strewn on the ground beside the bullet-ridden minibus at Kingsmill was a lunchbox, its lid at an angle beside it among the glass-sprinkled concrete.

On January 5, 1976, at teatime, a red light flashed in the darkness, waving the van down and leading the driver to believe it was an army checkpoint. He stopped and rummaged for his identification, while men on the road with their faces covered poured out from nearby hedges holding rifles, ordered the occupants out, and told them to put their hands on the minibus roof.

"Who is the Catholic?” a voice asked. Richard Hughes, afraid, moved his hand to give himself up. Fearing he was about to be harmed, two Protestant workmates put their hands over his in a protective fashion, to signal to him that they would not give him up to the 12 gunmen surrounding them. I wrote in these pages in November 2021: "If there was ever an illustration of humanity in the face of horror, it is this.”

The gunmen pumped 100 rounds of bullets into 11 Protestant men. Ten were killed. Kenneth Worton was 24. The lunchbox was his. His daughters, Suzanne and Racquel, were six and three. "It's only now in life,” Suzanne told me in 2023, "you realise how brutal a murder it was, them going round and finishing them off and, you know… I wouldn't do that to my dog... they were human beings lined up.”

Kenneth, a fun-loving man who brought little presents home for his daughters daily, left a gaping familial hole when murdered. Suzanne explained: "You went to school and you came home, then you cried and you'd see mum crying and you saw her hair falling out, you know? And she never really said. I just said: 'Where's dad?' And she said bad men took him, he's not coming back.”

They lived next door to the graveyard, their mother separated from her husband's grave by a thin fence. Unable to cope with claustrophobic grief, she took her children from school and moved them from Bessbrook to Banbridge. She died from ovarian cancer in her 50s.

After Kenneth's death, his family kept mementoes. His 15-year-old brother Colin wore some of his clothes. A brother-in-law received his shaver. Kenneth's chin hairs were there, trapped in the blade. "He had maybe shaved himself before he went to work…” Colin told me, sadly. He resembled Kenneth, with his curly hair.

He took Racquel and Suzanne out with his wife Barbara on day trips. One day, the girls heartbreakingly said to him: "You look like our daddy — will you be our daddy now?”

Kingsmill left a searing, cyclical pain. The sole survivor, Alan Black, shot 18 times, is now 81. Last week, he walked slowly with the aid of a rollator towards the Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson's office to receive her findings of police failings in the case. The wheels of justice are slow.

It is 50 years since the atrocity, yet no one has been convicted. In 2024, a coroner ruled it an "overtly sectarian attack by the IRA”. One of the rifles used, according to the 2012 Historical Enquiries Team report, was later found to be in the possession of hunger-striker Raymond McCreesh.

The minibus used in the shooting was abandoned in Dundalk. Gardaí recovered nine exhibits. Only five of those were given to the RUC for examination. The Ombudsman found no explanation for that. A suspect's palm print was found on the bus. There was no attempt to follow it up.

Victims in their eighties seeking answers

Cases like this in Northern Ireland make the news for a day or two and then drop from the agenda until the victims and their families strain themselves to raise it again. They are not getting any younger.

The sight of Alan Black still struggling to get answers is as disgusting as the sight of 87-year-old Bridie Brown outside the court of appeal last Friday. She is still fighting the British government for a public inquiry as to what happened to her husband Sean, who was shot in 1997 by loyalists.

Both Michelle O'Neill and Mary Lou McDonald stood with them in solidarity, calling for truth and justice. Their party did not co-operate with the Kingsmill inquests.

Separately, we appear to be getting either harder or indifferent to the waves of hurt. There is still something malevolent in our society, a coldness towards people who have suffered that is both ignorant and chilling.

On Friday, 53-year-old west Belfast man Liam Barker spoke to the BBC's Stephen Nolan show. He was sexually and physically abused in a children's home and became involved in criminality. His joyriding brought him to the attention of the IRA and he was first shot at age 15. At 17, he was abducted by men who put plasters on his eyes and a damp dishcloth in his mouth. They held him for eight hours, then shot him, before dropping concrete blocks on his limbs.

It was a moving interview, though people contacted the programme to say he deserved his kneecappings. The hierarchy of hurt evidently does not yet include child victims of paramilitaries. We're much too romantic about the past for that reality, yet.

Meanwhile, supporters of a certain rap group have no awareness of how just the sight of a balaclava can turn the stomach of those who remember those days too clearly.

Those supporters, rightly outraged about Gaza killings, have little to say about unresolved atrocities on our doorstep.

We wear Northern Irish murder and maiming too lightly on our sleeves and expect that our victims should bear their pain quietly, conveniently ignoring the fact that some of us actually might, even unintentionally, compound or contribute to it.

Among our ordinary, everyday life, our damage is still scattered all around.

Support for Kneecap band 'lacks nuance', says Billy Bragg

By Hannah Roberts, PA Entertainment Reporter, News Letter, April 5th, 2025

Musician and activist Billy Bragg has said an open letter from music stars defending Kneecap's right to freedom of expression “lacks any sense of nuance”.

The statement, signed by artists including former BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac, Paul Weller and Primal Scream, opposes the politicians calling for the rap trio to be dropped from the Glastonbury Festival line-up.

It comes following the emergence of two videos, one from a November 2023 gig that allegedly shows a member of the group saying: ‘The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.’

The other video, from November 2024, appears to show one member shouting ‘up Hamas, up Hezbollah’, which are terrorist organisations banned in the UK. Both are being investigated by counter-terrorism officers.

In an Instagram post, Bragg, 67, said: “I'm glad to see that a number of artists have signed a letter defending Kneecap from attempts to remove them from various festival bills in the wake of comments made at shows over two years ago.

“The band have apologised for the hurt they caused to the families of murdered MPs and distanced themselves from Hamas and Hezbollah.”

In a statement, Kneecap said it has “never supported Hamas or Hezbollah” and apologised to the families of Tory MP Sir David Amess and Labour MP Jo Cox.

After the footage emerged, a string of cancelled gigs followed, including the band's concert at the Eden Project in Cornwall on July 4.

“Having taken that step, I believe they deserve to be reinstated on those bills that have removed them, and also confirmed as playing at those festivals where they are already scheduled to perform,” Bragg said.

“However, I'm not sure I would have felt comfortable signing the letter (I wasn't asked). My problem is that the wording lacks any sense of nuance or understanding of why this whole furore kicked off.

“And in trying to avoid the complexities of this issue by claiming that the politics of an artist's views are irrelevant, the signatories are arguing that the only principle at stake here is free speech. I disagree.”

Bragg went on to say that “we need to accept that words have consequences” and said we must be careful to not allow “considered and cogent arguments” to “be undermined by flippant statements that we later have to apologise for”.