McDonnell's heroism marked in Slate Street
A memorial to hunger striker Joe McDonnell was unveiled in Slate Street in the Lower Falls on Sunday last. Slate Street was where McDonnell was born and reared.
The memorial was unveiled by his daughter Bernadette and was attended by his mother and other members of the McDonnell family, including his brother Frankie, who spent time on the blanket protest.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, Sinn Féin councillor Marie Moore, who was head of the Sinn Féin POW department at the time of the hunger strike, commended the bravery of Joe McDonnell and his nine comrades.
``I came into contact with the families of those brave men,'' said Moore. ``It was heartbreaking to see the families call into our dungeon-like offices on the Falls Road to tell us of the terrible conditions their loved ones were enduring in the H Blocks. The strength and fortitude of those families I will never forget.''
Moore then appealed to young people of the area: ``Joe and his comrades joined the Republican Movement to fight, to unify Ireland, to bring a better social and economic climate for you and for your future and they gave their futures for this to happen. I would ask you to take Joe McDonnell and the rest of the hunger strikers as your role models, there have been none better within our movement.''
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