A relative of the Maguire children, whose tragic deaths in 1976 inspired a peace movement in Belfast, has described the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann as a “miracle.”
“We used to be dying in the streets, and now we are dancing in the streets,” said Gerry Grehan, whose family was catapulted into world headlines this week in 1976.
The Maguire tragedy unfolded on August 10, 1976, just yards from the gates of St Michael the Archangel Church in West Belfast.
A car driven by an IRA man had mounted the pavement, after a British army patrol opened fire, where Grehan’s sister-in-law Anne Maguire was walking with her four children.
The IRA driver Danny Lennon (23) was killed along with the Maguire children. Baby Andrew was thrown from his pram and died instantly, Joanne, aged eight who was riding her bike also died at the scene, while two-year-old John died in hospital the following day. Their mother, who was taken to hospital, was too ill to attend their funerals.
The tragedy led to an outpouring of grief and the birth of cross-community ‘The Peace People” with thousands taking to the streets. Anne’s sister Mairead Corrigan was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Betty Williams, a local protestant woman.
Gerry was married to Anne’s late sister, Mary, and now chairs the Peace People. “I’m the last man standing,” he told The Irish Catholic.
The children’s uncle remembers lying on the floor of the hospital with the children’s grief-stricken father, Jack.
Mr Grehan contrasted the violent events of August 1976 with peaceful family-orientated events in Belfast as part of the Fleadh which drew tends of thousands. He said it was a joy to witness Irish dancers and musicians from around Ireland participating in an inclusive week-long festival which also featured Lambeg Drums and the Shankill Road Defenders Flute Band. “It was fantastic,” he said. “A great thing to see. When I look at what has been happening in Belfast, I think (the Fleadh) was Heaven-sent. It is a bit of a miracle and it is a fusion of everything.”
Mr Grehan said building peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland was the best way to remember his niece and nephews and his sister-in-law Anne who died broken-hearted, three years after her three children. “It says on the epitaph of Anne’s grave and the children’s grave, ‘They died that others should live in peace’.”
Fleadh musician Patrick Davey, a parishioner of St Michael’s who was nearby when the tragedy unfolded, agreed that Belfast received much grace this past week.
A Mass in Irish, Aifreann na Fleidh, with a musical setting he composed, was celebrated by Bishop of Down and Connor, Most Rev. Alan McGuckian, on the last day of the Fleadh, August 9. “It was amazing,” said Mr Davey. “The Church was full. We had 1300 people in the congregation. Aifreann Feistre was my Mass setting dedicated to the people of Belfast.”
An Cór Gaelach, a choir from Donaghmore, Co. Tyrone, sang at the Mass, which also included soloist Róise Ní Mhurchú.
Mr Davey – who received an award from Fleadh organisers, Comhaltas, agreed the Fleadh was a miracle for the city. “I haven’t heard one dissenting voice. And there is talk of it coming back not just for a second year but a third year.”
The Fleadh will return to Belfast next August 1-8.
