THURSDAY, 21 MAY 1981, witnessed the deaths of two more Hunger Strikers. Raymond McCreesh passed away at 2:30am. That evening, Patsy O’Hara died. The deaths of Raymond and Patsy – who had started t.
Remembering 1981: Four men dead as crisis escalates
• Raymond McCreesh and Patsy O Hara
Thursday, 21 May 1981, witnessed the deaths of two more Hunger Strikers. Raymond McCreesh passed away at 2.30am. Later that evening Patsy O’Hara died.
A Mass had been celebrated at Raymond McCreesh’s bedside on Wednesday evening by his brother Fr Brian McCreesh. He was semi-conscious and appeared to show some sign of recognition but died just a few hours later. His remains were returned to his beloved Camlough in South Armagh for the funeral the following Saturday.
Leaving the family home in St Malachy’s Terrace, the cortege stopped briefly at the lane outside the house where it was joined by a honour guard of IRA Volunteers, Cumann na mBan and Na Fianna Éireann. Led by a lone piper, the cortege paused to allow Raymond McCreesh’s comrades fire a final salute over the Tricolour-draped coffin.
Leitrim’s Bloody Sunday
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The date of Friday, 11th March 1921, will be forever etched in the memory of those who follow history. This was Leitrim’s ‘Bloody Sunday’, when six young men were gunned down in their prime by the Black n Tans writes Cormac O Súilleabháin, Author of Leitrim’s Republican Story
In every conflict there is always an event or tragedy which stands out above all others. Something that strikes a chord within people and never leaves your mind. For the people of Leitrim, the Selton Hill Ambush is that event.
The date of Friday, 11th March 1921 will be forever etched in the memory of those who follow history, not to mention the descendants of the families affected and the generations gone, and to come. This was Leitrim’s “Bloody Sunday”, when six young men were gunned down in their prime by members of the Hampshire Regiment in the most defining engagement of the Tan War in Leitrim. In such situations many often could rightly cite the words