2 September 2004 Edition
Drumnakilly ambush remembered
Barry McElduff and Barney McAleer
The community of Loughmacrory and the wider Tyrone area gathered last weekend to take part in a series of events to mark the 16th anniversary of republicans Gerard and Martin Harte and Brian Mullin, who were killed on active service on Tuesday 30 August 1988.
The events got underway on Saturday, with the annual under-12 Gerard and Martin Harte Memorial Football Tournament. Organised by Cumann Naomh Treasa GAA club, four teams took part this year — Greencastle, Loughmacrory, Kildress and Galbally. The final game was between Kildress and Galbally and was an entertaining and skillful display of underage football.
Kildress were leading throughout the game and appeared to be on course to lift the cup for the second year in succession. However, a late comeback by challengers, Galbally, in the closing three minutes with two blistering goals, snatched victory from the jaws of a bewildered Kildress with Galbally going through by a margin of one point. There followed scenes of uncontrolled jubilation as Galbally players paraded their much-deserved prize, the Gerard and Martin Harte Memorial Cup, which was presented to their captain by Briege Curran (née Harte).
On Monday evening, a special anniversary Mass was celebrated in St Mary's Chapel, Loughmacrory for the three men. This was followed by a commemoration and unveiling of a memorial plaque at the family home of Gerard and Martin in the townland of Striffe.
Over 300 people filed up the family lane to attend the commemoration. Local councillor and friend of the Harte family, Barney McAleer, chaired the proceedings, paying tribute to the courage and commitment of the three men and pledging ongoing support from republicans for the Harte and Mullin families.
Brian Harte, nephew of Gerard and Martin, read the Tyrone Roll of Honour, accompanied by a background lament. Fionnuala Campbell recited a poem dedicated to the Volunteers of Tyrone, while Caoimhe Curran sang a stirring rendition of Four Green Fields.
Veteran republican Charlie Ferris from Glenhordial unveiled the plaque, after which he stood back and saluted the three Volunteers, a mark of respect greeted with enthusiastic applause from the assembled crowd. The Quinn sisters from Cappagh provided background music for the entire proceedings, assisted by Kate McCullagh from Greencastle.
West Tyrone MLA Barry McElduff delivered the main address. He said that the deaths of the three volunteers at Drumnakilly were a huge loss to the republican community throughout Ireland. However, he acknowledged that the Harte and Mullin families have had to carry the heaviest burden of all during the last 16 years.
McElduff said that remembering is very important and we should remember them by fostering respect for Ireland's patriot dead and by maintaining fittingly those monuments dedicated to them. He pointed out that there was a plaque in Rós Muc to mark the home of Padraig and Willie Pearse and in Deveskey, Carrickmore, to mark the homestead of Joe McGarrity. It is fitting and appropriate to mark the homestead of Volunteers Gerard and Martin, he said.
McElduff said that the SAS operation at Drumnakilly was an act of war and that Britain is guilty of hypocrisy in denying that it was engaged in a war while simultaneously carrying out such acts.
Barry predicted that a wave of Irish republicanism will sweep Ireland over the coming 12 years and pointed to key events in the upcoming republican calendar. These include the 100th anniversary of Sinn Féin in 2005, the 25th anniversary of the 1981 Hunger Strike in 2006 and the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising in 2016. "We have got the formula right to achieve a united Ireland," he said.
After the commemoration, the Harte family invited the assembled crowd for tea and sandwiches in the family home. The gathering was very nostalgic as people from all parts of Tyrone, Monaghan. Fermanagh and beyond met up and recounted anecdotal stories of Gerard, Martin and Brian - sharing memories of the good times and of the tragedy and suffering that the British state inflicted upon their families.
It was after midnight when the final few left the family home. The organisers and family were satisfied in the knowledge that this was a fitting commemoration for three brave sons and that, despite the passage of time, people still remember and recall the ultimate price that the three men had paid in pursuit of a free, just and peaceful Ireland.