A moving tribute to Rosemary Nelson
Thousands joined in a silent funeral cortege in Lurgan to pay tribute
to Rosemary Nelson. Caítlin Doherty followed the mourners on a day of
sadness and overwhelming grief
The procession was silent, and silent to a point it gripped the
throat. In the streets of Lurgan, thousands paid tribute to a
relative, a friend, and someone for whose work and person they had
strong feelings for.
It was for the woman Rosemary Nelson, for the loving relative,
passionate human rights solicitor and once cheerful friend or
determined colleague that they gathered. By doing so in such numbers,
the mourners made one clear statement: Rosemary, the voice of the
people, would never be left in the dark.
Croppies won't lie down.
Hundreds had already gathered outside her home in Ashford Grange in
the town to follow the funeral cortege. As her father, husband and
her closest friends, among which Breandán MacCionnaith and Gerard
Rice carried her coffin, they wept. It was Paul, Rosemary's husband,
and her three children who then led the funeral crowd to St Peter's
church. In their hands, they held a single red flower.
They were not alone in their overwhelming grief. Thousands had
arrived from Belfast, Derry, Armagh, Tyrone, Fermanagh and the 26
Counties.
Among them was Dara O'Hagan, Rosemary's close friend and Bairbre de
Brún, Gerry Kelly, John Kelly, Barry McElduff and Francie Malloy, all
Sinn Féin Assembly members. Relatives of Robert Hamill, who Rosemary
represented, Róisín McAliskey as well as English civil rights
campaigner Michael Mansfield, solicitor Gareth Pierce and comedian
Jeremy Hardy.
As mourners lined the streets, the procession swelled and soon became
a stream of outcrying grief.
No church could have ever contained the crowd. In and outside a
packed St Peter's Church, lined with microphones, mourners silently
filled the aisle. The officiating priest, Father Kieran McPartlan
asked how anyone could take the life of a woman who had done so much
for her family and her community. Father McPartlan insisted on the
need for an independent inquiry into her murder. ``It is absolutely
necessary that an independent inquiry be set up to investigate the
circumstances surrounding the appalling death of Rosemary Nelson'', he
said. Her daughter Sarah brought a bouquet of flowers to the altar
during the Offertory procession. Her sons, Gavin and Christopher,
also paid a moving personal tribute. ``We, her family, knew her as the
best wife, daughter, and parent you could ever wish for. We all come
here today to celebrate the life of a wonderful person we all know we
were very lucky to have known and loved''. Their voices were strong
and suprisingly vibrant at such a difficult moment.
After the ceremony, as the crowd dispersed, there was a deep sense of
grief, but also of anger. There was no doubt in the mourners' minds
as to who had murdered Rosemary Nelson and the reasons they had
silenced her. But by attending the procession in such crowds, a clear
signal had been given: Rosemary had campaigned her whole life for
justice and truth. And the light of truth and justice has to now be
shed on her murderers.
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