15 May 2008 Edition

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HONOUR AND RESPECT: The massive attendance at her funeral reflected the esteem in which Joan and her family are held both locally and nationally

HONOUR AND RESPECT: The massive attendance at her funeral reflected the esteem in which Joan and her family are held both locally and nationally

Joan Foster

A BRIGHT DAY dawned on Thursday, 3 April, but that was soon to change as the news of IRA Volunteer Joan Foster’s sudden and untimely death filtered through the Donagh area of County Fermanagh and further afield.
There was a sense of deep shock and utter disbelief amongst all those who knew and loved her. Gone was a young woman who possessed all the attributes of a dedicated daughter, sister and aunt, a good friend to all of us who were fortunate enough to know her, a valued member of the local community and a lifelong, committed Irish republican. The entire community had lost a true friend in every sense of the word.
Joan was born on 6 October 1960 to Clare and the late Paddy Foster into a staunch republican and Gaelic tradition. In her late teens, like many other ordinary people of that time, she found herself in extraordinary circumstances. Joan, her family and the wider community were experiencing constant harassment, raids and attacks by the British crown forces. Joan was not someone to sit back and leave things to others, though. At the young age of 19 she took the conscious decision to join the ranks of Óglaigh na hÉireann.
Anybody that came into contact with Joan as a republican activist found her to be a brave, trustworthy and dependable Volunteer. She was an unassuming person who could get things done in her usual cool and calm manner. There was no fanfare with her. If you asked Joan to arrange something, you could be assured that it would be done.
During the 1980s, she became a close confidante of the then O/C of the South Fermanagh Brigade, Seamus McElwaine, and was a member of the colour party at Seamus’s funeral in 1986.
She played an active role in the H-Block/Armagh Campaign, Hunger Strike marches and the election campaigns which saw the election of Bobby Sands as MP for Fermanagh/South Tyrone and, following Bobby’s death, the election of Owen Carron.
 
AMERICA
In 1987, Joan went to America where she continued working on behalf of the republican cause. She joined Irish Northern Aid (Noraid), became its chairperson for a number of years and was honoured by the organisation in 2001.
Most particularly, she maintained constant contact with the late Eamon Carey, who headed up the Fermanagh Prisoners’ Dependants’ Fund. Eamon provided the materials made in Long Kesh for the raffles at the fund-raisers organised by Joan and her friends in Boston.
While living in Boston, she was also a founding member of the Aidan McAnespie Memorial Football team, which still lives on today in memory of Aidan, who was murdered by the British Army at a checkpoint in Aughnacloy. 

RETURNED
Joan returned in 2001 and immediately returned to the Republican Movement in the local area.
She became a prominent member of the Canon Tom Maguire Sinn Féin Cumann, most recently playing a key role in organising the main Easter Sunday Commemoration in Donagh a mere 10 days before her death.
She was secretary to the Cumann for the past five years and was meticulous in all she did.
Joan also immersed herself into the local St Pat’s GAA club, a club her father, Paddy, was instrumental in establishing. She was a staunch supporter of all the teams but in particular St Pat’s Ladies, for whom she held the position of treasurer for a number of years.
Joan was not a person who spoke at meetings just to be heard, but she was a person who analysed and thought things through.  She had the foresight and vision to understand changing circumstances and adapted her thinking accordingly. Throughout the heavy and difficult days of the Peace Process and some of the hard decisions that had to be taken, Joan remained a disciplined and committed member of the Republican Movement, supporting the peace strategy until her death.  Historians often claim that certain high profile, well known people shape the history of a nation but without the calibre of people like Joan Foster in any nation or community, no progress would be made.

FUNERAL
It is particularly sad to think of people like Joan who spent so much of their lives in the conflict years of our struggle only to be taken away so suddenly when we now have relative peace.
Joan was buried in Donagh on 6 April. The massive attendance at her funeral reflected the esteem in which she and her family are held both locally and further afield.
Her remains were escorted the short distance from her home to the chapel and on to the graveyard by a republican colour party.  St Patrick’s GAC formed a guard of honour. Her coffin was draped with the Tricolour, gloves, a beret and the St Patrick’s GAC Jersey.
Joan will be hugely missed by her family, local community and the Republican Movement.
Joan will not be easily replaced and words alone could never adequately describe her loss. We are all in a better place today because of the sacrifices made by people like Joan Foster and are all honoured to have known her but are deeply saddened at the loss of our dear friend and comrade.
We extend our sincerest sympathies to her mother, Clare; her sisters, Marie, Donna and Teresa; and her brothers, Gerry, Paddy Francis, Brendan and Kevin; and the extended Foster and O’Connor families.
Codladh Sámh, a chara, béidh tú in ár gCuimhne go deo.


An Phoblacht
44 Parnell Sq.
Dublin 1
Ireland