Paddy Clugston
The death has taken place in Newry of a stalwart
Republican, Paddy Clugston.
For many years Paddy led the stewards for the Easter
Sunday parade. He was always immaculately dressed and
he stood out at Easter with his well-groomed suit and
his gleaming white shirt and black tie, which he
insisted all the stewards wear.
But Paddy will probably be best remembered for his work
on behalf of Republican prisoners. They were always
close to his heart and over the years - indeed, decades
- Paddy raised an enormous amount of money for the
prisoners' families. He organised a weekly draw at Glen
Electric and he collected every Saturday night around
the pubs of Canal Street.
A few years ago he walked from Newry to Dublin to raise
hundreds of pounds for Newry PDF.
Paddy knew that he was very ill but he bore it with
typical courage and not a little humour. He refused to
let his terrible illness get him down and he carried on
in his normal fashion as best he could. He helped run
Sinn Féin's very successful 150 Club and recently, when
Frank Johnston and Tommy Carroll volunteered to take
over his run, Paddy nearly chased them from the door -
it was his pitch and he insisted on keeping it going.
Paddy Clugston was a vital component in the Republican
Movement in Newry and he will be sorely missed. On
behalf of the Republican Movement I would like to offer
our deepest sympathy to Paddy's wife, Bridie, to his
sons, Patrick, Mark and Dominic, his daughter, Elaine,
to his mother and his brothers, Tony and Harvey, and to
all his family and friends.
By Davy Hyland
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