Republican News · Thursday 7 February 2002

Noraid in South Armagh

A 35-strong delegation of Noraid supporters visited Ireland last week. Among the highlights of their trip were visits to South Armagh, to Monaghan for the launch of Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin's reelection bid and to Derry for the Bloody Sunday commemoration.

Their tour of South Armagh on Friday, 1 February started with a visit to the Camloch monument erected in memory of Raymond McCreesh, who died on hunger strike in 1981. After a tour of the Camloch area, they moved on to view the hunger strike monument at Fords Cross.

During the tour, the group witnessed for themselves the scale of British Army military spyposts and the constant activity of helicopters flying low over the fields. Councillor Hearty explained the threat posed by British Army foot patrols spreading disease such as Bruscellosis because they refuse to conform to regulations governing the movement of people throughout the countryside. Only a few days previous he was threatened with arrest because he attempted to stop British soldiers walking from one farmland to another over ground that had been recently spread with slurry.

Despite the bad weather, the Noraid group completed their tour with a visit to Crossmaglen village.