23 July 2009 Edition

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Fógraí bháis: Leo O'Neill

IT WAS a shock to the republican and general Ballymacarrett community of east Belfast on the recent death of our friend, Leo O’Neill.
Leo was a Ballymacarrett man through and through. Born in Kilmood Street in April 1946, to the delight of his parents and his 20 siblings. Being the youngest of the family, Leo growing up had to assert himself at times and in the late 1950s/early ‘60s, Leo was one of the ‘Teddy Boys’, complete with the drainpipe trousers and the quiff in his hair. He also fancied himself as a bit of a crooner, singing along to Del Shannon, The Platters, and at any chance he got. As an extra bonus to his audience, he would have treated them with a dance.
Leo was to meet and marry the love of his life Jean (O’Rourke) from the lower Falls.
As the Six-County state erupted,  it was no surprise that Leo and many young men took to the streets to defend their homes and area. Some of them later joined the ranks of 3rd Battalion, B Company, Óglaigh na hÉireann, in Belfast.
After Bloody Sunday, Leo was to find himself interned on the prison ship Maidstone. There he spent his time reading and making handicrafts which were to end up going all over the world. On his release, Leo saw the ravaged area that had borne the brunt of the British war effort and almost immediately began again to give his lot to the Republican Movement in whatever way he could
Occasionally, Leo and his friend Danny Gartland were able to get casual work within the area, more of thank you work than paid work. With redevelopment slowly making its way through the area, Leo and Jean were to get their new house.
This should have been a new start for Leo and Jean. As the door closed in Thompson Street, a house that had always been  open to the Movement, Leo was to take ill with agoraphobia, which restricted his ability greatly to face open spaces. Leo used his illness to spend quality time with all his children and Jean being always there for them.
Leo was not to allow his illness be any loss to the local ASU and he remained faithful in assisting the many Óglaigh that passed through his home.

ST MATTHEW’S CHAPEL
Deep sorrow was to befall the O’Neill house when Jean was to die of cancer in 2002. To add insult to grief, unionist  gangs stooped to a new low and attacked St Matthew’s Chapel during her Requiem Mass.
After the death of Jean, Leo found life very hard and with the love of his ever-growing family was able to cope with the grief and only recently before his death he started to join his brother Felix and friends for a few pints on a Friday. So when the news of Leo’s death made the rounds of the district it was a shock to us all.
When Leo’s family allowed the Movement to honour him it was with pride to do so. Leo was buried with the national flag draping his coffin and a guard of honour of his friends and former comrades of the Movement
Our thoughts are with  his  children Sharon, Jimmy, Bernie, Leo, Shirley, Lorraine, Sean, Deborah, Gary, the late Paul and his 28 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren at this sad time.
Leo, to a lot of people, you were a lot of things; to us, the Republican Movement, you were always there.

An Phoblacht
44 Parnell Sq.
Dublin 1
Ireland