Nobody Wins

You might remember my last post of a pre-Christmas visit to our friend June.  We were able to combine that visit with a short trip to my wife's mother's grave, to lay some flowers and think about her not being around the table for Christmas.  She was born and lived in Derry and was laid to rest about 18th months ago in the City Cemetery.   Derry/Londonderry is the second largest city in Northern Ireland and is perhaps most famous in recent times for the Civil Rights marches of the late 1960s/early '70s.  Unfortunately it had more than it's fair share of death and destruction during the 1970s, '80s and even into the '90s.  Thankfully when I landed there in 1997, fresh from almost 20 years in the South of England, change was underway and I have a lot of good memories from my time there - including meeting a certain significant other who now shares my life.

A few steps from my mother-in-law's grave and it's not hard to spot the memorials erected in memory of the many IRA volunteers who lost their lives during The Troubles - some through natural causes but many 'on active service'.  This is where large commemorations are held every Easter (as well as at other times to remember individuals) - remembering the Irish Republican insurrection against the British Government in Dublin on Easter Monday, 1916.

Tribute in Derry City Cemetery to members of the IRA who lost their lives. 
Hasselblad, 50mm, FP4 in HC-110, Foma 133 paper. 

There are a lot of names on the marble, some more familiar than others.  Martin McGuinness is one that many will recognise - former leader in the Provisional IRA who ended up in government as deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland.  I picked another name at random - John McDaid, who died on 7th December 1974 when a bomb he was carrying prematurely exploded.   One article I read online described him as a seasoned and trusted volunteer.  He was 16 years old.  

Now I could leave the story there - after all, this place is supposed to be about my photography, but I think it needs a few more words.  How messed up are things when a 16 year old dies when transporting a bomb? As my wife (who grew up in Derry at the height of The Troubles) reminded me, context is everything.   Two years previously, in 1972, was the event that became known as Bloody Sunday where 26 people on a protest march were shot by British soldiers.  Thirteen people died that day and a fourteenth later died from his injuries.  Some 38 years later the Savile Investigation concluded that the killings were unjustified and unjustifiable.  At the time, this event and others in the City caused a massive backlash from the community in Derry and there is little doubt that many angry young people wanted to push back against the British Army.  It was not a normal time and certainly wasn't a normal life for many people in the City.  This article makes difficult reading but gives an insight into the sorts of events (and propaganda) that peppered everyday life for teenagers in this part of the world in the early 70s. Thank goodness we are in a far better place today.