Dr. Novosel’s words on our Friday in Mt. Vernon and Belfast City Centre:
Today started early after a quick breakfast. The groups took taxis to Mt. Vernon Community Centre to meet with Billy Hutchinson, a former UVF prisoner, signatory to the Good Friday Agreement and now a community worker in Mt. Vernon. We arrived late because of the traffic, and Billy “slagged” (gave us a hard time, jokingly) for being Americans and being late. (All in good fun.) We immediately went out with him to talk walk about Mt. Vernon and view the work he and the community have done there. Mt. Vernon is one of the most disadvantaged sections of Belfast, but in the heart of it you would not know this, because of the work done there. Lisa Monahan, who worked in Tigers Bay in North Belfast remarked on the difference between the two. Billy took us to two areas in particular to show us how the community turned a wasteland in the heart of the area, into a small park with benches and a clock in the middle. He also showed us a hydroponic garden in the community that is in the experimental stage. We then went to view a new memorial garden in the heart of Mt. Vernon, a staunchly Loyalist area, where the 16th Irish and the 36 Ulsters are remembered for their sacrifices at the Somme (1916) and Messines (1917) when they fought together. In this garden, the community also erected a memorial to the youngest victim of the Great War, John Condon, a Catholic and Billy McFadzean, a Protestant who won a VC at the Somme. Billy went out of his way to make sure that we did not just see the good. He took us into an alleyway that the UVF used for punishment beatings and shootings and described an ongoing conflict over a killing that took place a few years ago.
We then went back to the Community Centre where Billy then spent another hour with the students talking, in particular, about the work that he and the Community are doing. Amanda, a local woman, joined us and explained her work to us. The most interesting part of the discussion here was the work that the community is doing to transform Mt. Vernon and open the community to everyone.
The talk then shifted to how Billy became involved in the conflict and what led him into his work to end the conflict and also transform the larger society. He talked about his imprisonment, the issue of political status and the work that the Republican and Loyalist prisoners did together through the Camp Council. He made two very interesting points. He described the real story behind the introduction of “Special Category Status,” and also told about how he could have been released early under paroled but refused that as he considered himself a “political prisoner.” The State added 5 years to his sentence, but he was released in 14 months, under a deal negotiated by the prisoners, on both sides, and the state. This is all too long to go into here. But, it was a great conversation and gave the students a great insight into Billy.
At the end of the meeting, Billy invited the students to come back to Mt. Vernon before they went home. So, we made arrangements to go back to Mt. Vernon next Thursday and meet with Billy and also William Mitchell, who is doing serious research on the UVF and also working with Restorative Justice in North Belfast.
We gave the students a break for lunch in town after that. Then at 2:15 we met in the City Centre to walk to the Job Centre to meet Harry Donaghy, a former Official IRA Volunteer. Harry now works on the Messines Project, (messinesassociation.org) a project that brings adults from both communities together to talk visit the Somme and Messines to discuss the common history of both communities in Northern Ireland. Harry spent an hour and a half with the students. He explained what he did and the goals of the project, which was to unite the communities, and how they did this. Like Billy, Harry explained how he became involved in the armed struggle and his prison experience. He provided further insight into the Camp Council of Long Kesh by describing how it worked. He also told a story about the only day that Ian Paisley visited Long Kesh. Harry told how, as he watched from Cage 20, Gusty Spence put the UVF on parade in full dress, in Cage 19 and as Paisley passed by he turned to his men pointed to Paisley, and said “If you want to know why you are here, just look over there men.” He also talked about the same story on “special category status” as Billy had earlier in the day.
We then retired to the John Hewitt, a very famous “social enterprise,” named after a famous Belfast poet. Harry wanted to show the students this, as this is a place where many political and historical discussions take place as many ex-prisoners and activists congregate there. While there, Brendan and Charlie, two of the trustees there, came over and talked to the students. They then brought out the “Pipes of Peace,” so the students could be photographed with them outside the John Hewitt. (See Ric’s Photos) Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein, Gusty Spence (UVF) donated their pipes and wrote a note in honor of David Ervine (former UVF and PUP). Jeannette, David’s widow donated one of his pipes. They were mounted and auctioned in March for 6600 GBP and will be hung in the Hewitt on May 20. The Hewitt requested a copy of the photos to use on their website.
Quote of the Day: “Our goal now is to create a peaceful and normal society. What form of society that will emerge out of that we will worry about later. The important point now is to make sure we live in peace.” Harry Donaghy
