Irish Eyes are Weeping

2006-08-10T08:57:00.000-07:00

I arise today through the strength of heaven,

light of sun, radiance of moon, splendour of fire,

speed of lightning, swiftness of wind, depth of sea,

stability of earth, firmness of rock.

As I gaze upon this painting of the PennyBridge, located just outside Ballymena, it fills my mind with memories of my childhood. I remember as a young child going out there to attend Sunday school with my two older sisters which was held, I believe, at the local Orange Hall. That Hall is now demolished and lies in a pile of rubble and stones as a new busy road and industrial estate now occupy the place where the PennyBridge once proudly stood. I also have a faint memory of an old woman standing at the half-door waving at us as we went by. The Penny Bridge is a place that I often retreat to in my mind when life gets stressful - those days were innocent and carefree - there were no "troubles" then.

I suppose when one thinks of Ireland, thoughts of green come to mind. Snow is not a common thing at all as the fields are always some colour of green, depending on the season and the amount of rain that falls. Here is a picture of Slemish mountain, not green, but covered in a white carpte of snow, where local legend holds that St. Patrick himself tended sheep as a slave.

No matter when you travel to Slemish, the fields are always full of sheep. The landscape is breath-taking and where I grew up as a child, Slemish could always been seen off in the horizon.

It was said that if one could see Slemish it was going to rain, and if one couldn't see Slemish it was raining. Below are some pictures of one of the most spectecular and mystical places in the north of Ireland. It is a land of both beauty, and for the most part, a land of hidden hurts and pain, kept secret for fear of retaliation and retrubition. A land of terrible beauty.

As we leave the spectecular beauty that is Slemish, where when one climbs to the top and sits in the stone chair where St. Patrick himself is said to have sat upon, we will walk down the road called the "Troubles". During the "Troubles" thousands of lives were shattered by the senseless killings of members of the security forces and civilians. There is an old joke about how the pilot spoke to the passengers as they were about to land at Belfast Airport and asked them to reset the time on their watches. He told them to turn back their watches to the year 1690. The Irish have long memories. They hold grudges and grievances for a long, long time, don't forget that!!

The Nine Glens of Antrim, magnificent in their forty shades of green, radiate outwards towards the Irish coast from the mountainous heartland of the county, cut through the black basalt by rivers and further gouged by ancient glaciers. The nine Glens of Antrim are known as Glenarm, Glencloy, Glenariff, Glenballyemon, Glencorp, Glanaan, Glendun, Glenshesk and Glentaisie.

Sadly, underneath all of this magnificent beauty lies a terrible truth. For a great many years extremists on both sides of the political divide have taken the people of this beautiful land on a journey that is full of pain and suffering, leading to the deaths of thousands of 'good' people. T'is a land of a terrible beauty indeed.

Far across yonder blue lies a true fairyland

With the sea rippling over the shingle and sand

Where the gay honeysuckle is luring the bee
And the green glens of Antrim are calling to me.

Sure if only you knew how the lamp of the moon

Turns a blue Irish bay to a silver lagoon

You'd imagine the picture of heaven 'twould be

Where the green glens of Antrim are calling to me.

But I'd be where the people were simple and kind

And among them the one who's been aye in my mind

Sure I'd pray that the world would in peace let me be

Where the green glens of Antrim are heaven to me.

The words of this Irish song captures the inspirational beauty of this troubled land. The Green Glens of Antrim without a doubt display some of the most beautiful sights found in nature. It is so hard to comprehend that behind this tremendous display of nature's wonders that such an evil is lurking, waiting to strike terror into the hearts and minds of the people who fall under their intimidation and control and continuely used and exploited for political purposes.

spectecular water falls are to be found everywhere

The area was Gaelic-speaking until the early 20th Century. The Glens are famous for their natural beauty, the friendlines of the people who live there and willingly share their cultural richness, particularly in the areas of music, dancing and sport. Such natural beauty is around every corner. Creativity abounds and is everywhere to be found. As one wanders among the great Glens there is a mystical undercurrent to it all as the birds sing among the lush trees and there always seems to be a gentle mist that fills the air.

Against the natural beauty of the Irish countryside, in the cities, towns and villages, as one drives along the narrow streets, and perhaps on turning a corner, suddenly there it is, as large as life, right in your face, looming like some great gigantic painting "the wall mural" that contains some of the most intimidating and threatening slogans from both sides of the extreme forces at work in the midst of such beauty. They strike the heart and unsettle to discerning mind.

"NORTHERN IRELAND has become somewhat famous for the murals painted in almost every area of the country. These pictures of murals are often flashed around the world on news bulletins or used as a backdrop when interviewing people. They often depict the history and political views of both traditions and are a way of marking territory. These Northern Ireland wall paintings often look intimidating but they have become as much of a tourist attraction as many of the regular attractions within Northern Ireland. The following are Belfast wall paintings and are both Loyalist and Republican in content. "

The above quotation was taken from the Peace Line Tours website and certainly is a great example of selling the troubles for tourism dollars. The web site describes the wall murals as 'often looking intimidating' which I find a fascinating spin on how to describe them. They are meant to be nothing but 'intimidating' as the extremists mark "their" territory just as a dog marks his and are prepared to protect it with a ferocity that is expressed in the extreme.

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It is rumoured that these Paramilitary murals will be replaced under a government-funded scheme to redecorate Northern Ireland's walls with more welcoming images.

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The proposals have been criticised by some tour guides. Tourists can see a lot of Northern Ireland's history with some of the Belfat Murals they have often been described as a picture book that shows the last 35 years of conflict.

The murals tour in Belfast is one of the most popular, must see attraction for tourists visiting Northern Ireland. With peace and stability now almost normal in Northern Ireland, Peace Line Tours would like to ask the question is it time for the murals to go, or are they just a harmless tourist attraction and a reminder of the past. ( Of course they will lose tourist dollars as well.)

REMEMBERING

Between 1969 and 2001

3523 people

were killed as a result of the Troubles:

2055

by republican groups

1020

by loyalist groups

368

by British and Irish security forces

by groups or persons unknown.

Status

Most of those killed were civilians or members of the security forces, with smaller groups of victims identified with republican and loyalist paramilitary groups. It is often disputed whether some civilians were members of paramilitary organisations due to their secretive nature.

An analysis of those killed by status gives:

1857

civilians

1121

members of security forces

394

identified as members of republican groups

151

identified as members of loyalist groups

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The security force members include:

498

British army personnel

301

Royal Ulster Constabulary officers

197

Ulster Defence Regiment personnel

Northern Ireland Prison Service officers

Royal Irish Regiment personnel

Gardaí (police officers in the Republic of Ireland)

Territorial Army personnel

police officers in England

Royal Air Force personnel

Royal Navy personnel

Irish Army soldier

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CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD OF THE DECEASED

ROYAL ULSTER CONSTABULARY

Constable Victor Arbuckle
killed 11-Oct-1969 by Loyalists
Shot dead during riot on Shankill Road.

Constable Sam Donaldson
killed 12-Aug-1970 by the IRA
by booby trap car bomb in Culloville, Crossmaglen

Constable Robert Millar
killed 12-Aug-1970 by the IRA
by booby trap car bomb in Culloville, Crossmaglen

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Constable Robert Buckley

killed 28-Feb-1971 by the IRA
shot dead during riots at Alliance Avenue, North Belfast.

D/Inspector Cecil Patterson

killed 28-Feb-1971 by IRA
shot dead during riots at Alliance Avenue, North Belfast.

Constable Robert Leslie

killed 18th-Sept-1971 by the IRA
Shot and fatally wounded in Castle Place, Strabane

Constable Cecil Cunningham
15th-Oct-1971 by the IRA
Shot dead in Ardoyne, Belfast.

Constable John Haslett
killed 15-Oct-1971 by the IRA
Shot dead in Ardoyne, Belfast.

Sargeant Ronald Dodd
killed 27-Oct-1971 by the IRA
Shot and fatally wounded at Gallagh, Toomebridge

Inspector Alfred Devlin
killed 29-Oct-1971 my the IRA
Killed in bomb at Chichester Road RUC Station, Belfast

D/Constable Stanley Corry
killed 1-Nov-1971 by the IRA
Shot dead in Andersontown, Belfast

D/Constable William Russell
killed 1-Nov-1971 by the IRA
Shot dead in Andersontown, Belfast

Sargeant Dermot Hurley
killed 11-Nov-1971 by the IRA
Fatally injured in gun attack on Oldpark Road, Belfast

Constable Walter Moore
killed 11-Nov-1971 by the IRA
Fatally injured in gun attack on Oldpark Road, Belfast

A chronological record of the deceased is available from this menu.

1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998

To find information relating to a deceased officer

please select the year in which he or she died.

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The

ULSTER DEFENSE REGIMENT

This The Ulster Defence Regiment's Roll of Honour and in this section I intend to inform you about the brave men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice with the aim of helping to bring peace to Northern Ireland.
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1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
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Maybe there is hope ....
A television programme produced by the BBC includes a meeting between former loyalist paramilitary Michael Stone and Sylvia and Roddy Hackett, the widow and brother of a man he is convicted of murdering.
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Michael Stone became notorious when television cameras captured his gun and grenade attack on mourners at an IRA funeral in Milltown cemetery in 1988 killing three people.
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When questioned by police about the attack, Stone confessed to another three murders including that of Dermot Hackett. Stone claims that Mr Hackett was an IRA man, but the family have always denied that.
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After the meeting, Fergal Keane asked Sylvia whether she now thought it was the right thing for her to come to meet Michael Stone. Sylvia said she had waited a long time for this day and it had given her a "little bit of healing. It's been like a life sentence for me and the girls. This was something I just had to do. To show him I'm not just this bitter woman who everybody thinks I'm going to be. I do feel sorry for him. But it was my way of showing I'm a Christian.”
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St. Patrick's Prayer

This day I call to me:

God's strength to direct me,

God's power to sustain me,

God's wisdom to guide me,

God's vision to light me,

God's ear to my hearing,

God's word to my speaking,

God's hand to uphold me,

God's pathway before me,

God's shield to protect me,

God's legions to save me.

I arise todaythrough the mighty strength,

the invocation of the Trinity,

through belief in the threeness,

Through the confession of the oneness,

of the Creator of Creation

A TERRIBLE BEAUTY

Irish Eyes are Weeping