Dave Baker
The death of Dave Baker of Ballyfermot earlier this year deprived
his family and his community of a guiding light. For republicans
in Ballyfermot he will be remembered in particular as a man who
proved himself a friend of democracy when one was needed.
We were honoured to make his acquaintence when the political
enemies of Sinn Féin and Irish unity had ensured that in 1992 all
the usual venues in which we held our Ard Fheis were closed to
us. It looked at one stage as if the event might have to be held
outdoors until the Ballyfermot Community Association (BCA) agreed
to allow us to use their hall.
At the executive committee meeting of the BCA before which the
Sinn Féin application came, it was Dave who proposed that it be
accepted on the grounds that the venue was open to all other
political parties. His proposal won unanimous support. Then the
association was subjected to an intense campaign of threat and
intimidation from some who called themselves peace-loving
democrats.
Lesser mortals might have knuckled under to such a campaign but
they breed them courageous in Ballyfermot. Dave and his wife
Nancy, who was also a member of the executive committee, were the
main targets of the attacks and so severe were the threats that
the Baker family had to move out of their home for a time. They
still refused to back down. Dave's sense of justice would not
allow such a course to be considered and the bullies met their
match. As Gerry Adams told a native of Ballyfermot who attended
one of his meetings in the US, ``history was made there that day.''
People like Dave Baker are all too rare, and many people will
pass their lifetime without meeting his like. Because of his
stand and that of the committee, the peace process got past that
first hurdle in 1992, the first step in a long journey. We are
told that Dave suffered his final illness with the courage and
dignity that were typical of him. He is now beyond pain or harm
and we find consolation in that. We offer to the Baker family,
and his many friends, our condolences, and will always remember
Dave's courage and understanding. It is a worthy legacy.
By a Ballyfermot republican.