Statue of Bobby Sands to be unveiled | The Refugees | Pope Francis

Statue of Bobby Sands to be unveiled

On May 4 at 3pm, a statue of Bobby Sands will be unveiled in the Republican Memorial Garden in Twinbrook, where Bobby lived. The organisers of the event, all local republican activists and all inspired by the courage and self-sacrifice of Bobby and his comrades, have worked hard over recent years to raise the funds for the statue. Former hunger striker Pat Sheehan who spent 55 days on the 1981 hunger strike will speak about Bobby and his comrades who died.

There will also be a Bobby Sands Mountain Walk that morning and the annual Bobby Sands lecture will be given that evening by Pat Sheehan in the Andersonstown Social Club.

Bobby was the first of ten republican hunger strikers to die during the H-Block hunger strike of 1981. He died on May 5. The others were: Francis Hughes; Raymond McCreesh; Patsy O’Hara; Joe McDonnell; Kieran Doherty TD; Kevin Lynch; Martin Hurson; Tom McElwee; and Mickey Devine. Nor should we forget Michael Gaughan 1974 and Frank Stagg 1976 who died on hunger strike in prisons in England.

I knew Bobby and Francie Hughes, Kieran Doherty and Joe McDonnell. I also met Tom McElwee and Mickey Devine on a visit to the prison hospital in July 1981. They were all ordinary young working class men. Joe McDonnell at 30 was the eldest. The rest were all in their 20s. In extraordinary times they revealed a depth of resolve that few are ever called upon to demonstrate.

The Refugees

A hurried worried people, a human stampede to God knows where,

Were spat out from the back streets, for God knows who to care.

Their little kitchen houses lit up the night around about

‘For God and Ulster’ was the reason that the refugees were driven out.

Oh little humble homes where the people hugged the open fire,

Oil-clothed floors and little ornamented cabinets that the neighbours would admire,

The little backyard havens where the youngsters would play

And in the hall the little font of holy water to bless you on your way!

Pope Francis

The funeral last Saturday of Pope Francis was an occasion to mourn the passing of a leader who championed progressive causes, stood up for those most marginalised and vulnerable while opening the door to reform within the Church. 

There is much more to be done to make the Church democratic. I am among those who are alienated by the deep absence of equality in the Church’s structures.  Banning women from the priesthood is totally unacceptable as is the opulence of some institutions and the unaccountability of church leaders, particularly over the treatment of children and vulnerable people.  But still there are good priests and nuns and many decent people doing their best to make amends.  

They include Pope Francis. The many stories of his deep sense of compassion for the sick and vulnerable and those who are victim of abuse and violence have filled the airwaves and social media since his death. His loss is a huge blow to the institutional Church which often seems aloof to the trials and tribulations of ordinary people while being less than open about the sins of some within its own ranks.