A different perspective

IRA Memorial

by Charlie Murray

On Wednesday I was taken on a tour of parts of Derry and the cemetery in Creggan by a guy I met at The Rocking Chair Pub named Pat.  Pat is a resident of Creggan and has been around for all the Troubles.  He and his dad were present on Bloody Sunday and as a part of my personal walking tour, Pat took me to where it all happened.  He gave a description of what the area used to look like and pointed out several places where people were shot.  Later, after we finished the walking tour, Pat went home to retrieve a pamphlet he wanted me to have on the Bloody Sunday event.  On the cover is a picture of that day and right in the middle is Pat's dad. 

The cemetery was very large and most of the graves were Republican.  Pat said that the Republican graves are marked with a flag pole.  There are also some of the people killed on Bloody Sunday buried there as many of them were from Creggan. 



Peace Bridge

In talking to Pat I discovered he had a different perspective on what happened here and why.   Pat also had a different opinion of Sinn Fein and the their motives.  He believes that many are motivated by money and power rather than peace.  The symbol of the peace bridge and the promotion of the City of Culture means nothing to him.  He doesn't understand the purpose of spending so much money on all this instead of using it to help the people that are struggling to make a living and rebuild their lives.