Nellie McGlinchey
Derry republicans recently lost a remarkable woman whose active
involvement in the freedom struggle spanned over four decades.
Nellie McGlinchey was one of those rock-solid republicans whose
dedication and readiness to act in support of the struggle was
unquestionable.
She became involved in Cumann na mBan in the forties and fifties.
When this current campaign began, Nellie was one of the first to
offer support. After internment, her home in Rathlin Drive was in
constant use by the Republican Movement. Hers was a thoroughgoing
Republican family. Together with her husband Joseph, also active
in previous campaigns, they helped in every possible way and
worked tirelessly on behalf of Republican PoWs. They reared their
children in a milieu of determined active resistance and quite
often in the midst of raiding parties from one or another branch
of the Crown Forces.
During Operation Motorman, when No-Go areas were invaded by the
British Army, the McGlinchey home was, along with schools and
other key installations in Free Derry, taken over by the
occupation forces.
Nellie's friendship spanned nearly the entire Republican
community, as well as her neighbours in Creggan beyond. She was a
close friend of the many people, especially the young activists,
to whom she opened her home. Eamonn Lafferty, the first volunteer
shot dead by the British Army in the present campaign, was a
close friend, and she was a founder member of the Eamonn Lafferty
Sinn Fein Cumann.
During one of the many raids on the McGlinchey home, her close
friend and neighbour, Mrs Kathleen Thompson was shot dead by the
British Army. This deeply affected Nellie, who was a lifelong
friend of Kathleen.
One of Nellie's deepest commitments was to her family, and she
saw the many young volunteers who passed through her home as an
extension of her own family. Always prepared to offer practical
help, she saw a need and together with a few others founded the
Relatives Action Committee in Derry. She was a key figure in the
Prisoners Dependants Fund, the Magilligan Welfare Committee, and
anti-internment campaigns
While travelling home on the PDF bus after visiting her son
Patrick, then in Crumlin Road Jail, the bus veered off the road
in bad weather. Nellie suffered devastating injuries. Despite
months in hospital, she never really recovered from this.
However, although her activities were severely limited, she
remained a dedicated Republican until the time of her death. To
her many friends throughout Ireland, and to her grieving children
- Thomas, Patrick, Eamonn and Eileen - the Republican Movement
extends its heartfelt sympathy.
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