8th July 2013 marks the 32nd anniversary of the death of Vol Joe McDonnell after 61 days on hunger strike. He was the fifth hundgerstriker to die but who was this man that is sang about in the ‘Ballad of Joe McDonnell’? His parents Robert and Eileen had 9 children and Joe was the fifth child, born on 14th September 1951. His brothers and sisters were Eilish, Robert, hugh, Patsy, Maura, Paul and Frankie. The ninth child was his sister Bernadette who Joe was particularly fond of. According to his mother Eileen “Joe practically reared Bernadette. He was always with the child, carrying her around. He was about ten at the time. He even used to play marleys with her on his shoulders.” Unfortunately Bernadette died when she was three years old from a kidney illness. It is said that her death impacted the family obviously but Joe felt the loss deeply. When Joe was 17, he started dating the sister of one of his friends, Goretti (pictured below) from Andersonstown. He went on to marry her in 1970 and they moved in with her sister and her family in Lenadoon. At that time, they were one of only two Nationalist families on the street and after repeated attacks and intimidation, were forced to leave one night when both houses were attacked by a loyalist mob who entered the houses and wrecked them. The nearby British post did nothing. Joe and Goretti went to live with Goretti’s mother for a while, but eventually got the chance to squat in a house being vacated in Lenadoon Avenue. In 1972, the British army raided the house at 4.00am and lifted Joe by dragging him and hitting him, from the house and bundling him into a jeep. Again, their home was wrecked. Joe was taken to the Maidstone Prison ship and then on to Long Kesh where he was held for several months. Goretti was deeply affected by this experience describing it as “a horrific experience which altered both our lives.” One minute they were a quiet newly married couple setting up home and the next, everything was taken from them. On his release, Joe joined the IRA and operated with the 1st Battalion A Company. He was interned again in 1973 for a longer period of time. When he wasn’t interned, Joe worked as an upholsterer which he had done since he left school at 15. He made a lot of the furniture for his own home and bars and clubs around the area. This gave the family some much needed normality in their lives. They had 2 children now, Bernadette (named after Joe’s favourite sister) and Joseph. Joe was forever playing football with his son on the green outside their home and taught both children how to swim. He was a devoted father. While trying to provide a normal life for his family, Joe was constantly targeted by enemy forces. Even when he was interned, it didn’t stop them raiding and wrecking his home. They would tear up precious photos (in those days, it wasn’t a case of just printing out another copy), and even read his private letters to Goretti aloud. At one stage they even arrested Goretti herself. Being a young man of exceptional commitment, he immediately reported back to the IRA for duty and continued his fight against British oppression on his release but because he was so quiet and never flaunted his republican beliefs or his involvement, some republicans thought he hadn’t reported back at all. He was very responsible in relation to his involvement. He never socialised with comrades as others did, but he was an efficient operator who never discussed what he did afterwards. He was trusted. Joe was quiet and a deep thinker, a gentle man with a great sense of humour and loved to play practical jokes. The exception to this was his friendship with Bobby Sands and it was with Bobby that Joe was arrested in October 1976 for the bombing of Balmoral Furniture Store in Dunmurray. He was tried, although he didn’t recognise the court, and sentenced to 14 years in 1977. Joe’s brother Frankie had already been on the Blanket and was due for release in December 1976 after serving 5 years, just 2 months after Joe was arrested. By this time, political status had been removed in Britain’s attempt to criminalise those who fought for Irish freedom. Joe McDonnell immediately joined the Blanket Protest which escalated into the ‘no wash’ protest in 1978. It was a horrific time for POW’s who had to contend with filth, dirt, shit on their walls, only a blanket to cover their nakedness, beatings, lack of contact with each other, locked up 24/7, isolation from their families, no social contact, no letters and all basic things we take for granted were denied to them. Joe was 26 years old when he joined the Blanket Protest and 27 when he took part in the ‘no wash’. It should be pointed out that Joe never once (apart from informing his family of his decision to go on hunger strike) put on a prison uniform which meant he had no contact with his young family. After the breakdown of the first hunger strike in 1980, and the duplicity of the British government, Joe McDonnell put himself forward for the 1981 hunger strike. There were no options left. They would have to strike to the death to put pressure on the British to reinstate political status. They were NOT criminals and were prepared to die rather than have Ireland’s cause for freedom labelled as criminal. It was very fitting that Joe was the one who replaced his friend and comrade Bobby Sands on the Hunger Strike. Joe started his Hunger Strike just 4 days after Bobby passed away. It must have been a huge step on that morning of 9th May 1981 to begin the strike knowing the reality of how it would end. Bobby had died and there was huge shock all around the world but no more keenly would it have been felt than in the H Blocks, among the others on the Hunger strike knowing their fate would probably be the same. There were no options left. They would have to strike to the death to put pressure on the British to reinstate political status. They were NOT criminals and were prepared to die rather than have Ireland’s cause for freedom labelled as criminal. At 29 years of age, Joe starved for justice and he starved for each and every one of us that we may have political status. There were 5 demands in total: 1. The right not to wear a prison uniform 2. The right not to do prison work 3. The right to free association, education and recreation 4. The right to 1 visit, 1 letter and 1 parcel a week 5. Full restoration of remission lost through the protest. These 5 simple demands proved too much for the British government and their ‘iron lady’ Margaret Thatcher. She had stood by while Bobby Sands had given his life and was standing by while Francis Hughes, Ray McCreesh and Patsy O’Hara were getting close to death and she would continue to stand by while Joe McDonnell and 5 more young men would follow them to their graves. Think of yourself at aged 29 or someone close to you. Look at children aged 10 and 9 years of age and try to imagine them losing their father in such a way. It is impossible to imagine them or yourself in that same situation, but it really happened. Imagine how his wife Goretti felt knowing her husband was going through this ordeal and unable to help him, how would you cope if it was your partner? Goretti McDonnell fought hard and was always seen at protests fighting for the 5 demands. She stood by Joe and his wishes until the end; but she was heartbroken which is evident from the videos and pictures of the funeral from that time. The whole family was heartbroken, their son/brother/father/uncle (and he was all of these things) had died. What the cameras didn’t capture at that time was what happened behind the closed door of Joe’s home; the crying, the hearts breaking, the pleading with God to make Thatcher see sense, trying to comfort each other, the mourning for Joe even before he died and the sheer desperation they felt. Joe was put forward and lost the Sligo/Leitrim election in June 1981 by 315 votes. We sing his ballad and we shout out the chorus “and you dare to call me a terrorist, while you look down your gun” and we love him as a republican and a hero but we have to remember his family. He was so much more to them and they went through hell. They were an ordinary family in extraordinary circumstances. After 61 days on Hunger Strike, on the morning of 8th July 1981 at 5:11am, Joe McDonnell passed away. On the 8th July 2013, we remember Joe McDonnell but let’s also remember his family and the sacrifice they made and remember what they went through. This didn’t happen in some far away undeveloped country and it didn’t happen hundreds of years ago. This happened just outside Lisburn in County Antrim and it only happened 32 years ago. So who was Joe McDonnell? Father, husband, Son, Brother, Uncle, Freedom fighter, furniture maker but above all, He was an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances. Rest in Peace Comrade.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Jul 2013 09:09:05 +0000