The Price of my Soul by Bernadette Devlin McAliskey

Bloody Sunday is not exclusive to the people of Doire - not exclusive to the people of Northern Ireland. We still have to keep in front of people's minds that it didn't just happen to us. It's very important to remember first of all that we continue to fight - to challenge the cover-up, to challenge the pattern, to challenge the belief that the state can do whatever the states likes.Īnd even though some people from time to time get tired or begin to collaborate with the state in believing that it's all best swept away somewhere and new starts made on corrupt beginnings. Sometimes you forget as well why we came on that day. So here on the forty-first anniversary of Bloody Sunday I'm actually surprised myself that on this cold day that somewhere in the back of my head is a slightly-too-close for me at the minute a very uncomfortable memory of standing here forty-one years ago. And it takes very brave people to keep standing their ground when there are plenty of people with them and when there are no people simply because they know that justice remains to be done needs nd not simply be seen to be have done. There are times when people who are in the thick of what is actually happening – the people who have actually have suffered the brunt of the pain and the loss - who have to travel very lonely paths sometimes - although we try our best to stand with everybody. It has been a lonely enough path at times for families. So I'd just like to take a minute to thank Kate Nash, to thank The Nash Sisters, to thank the families who have asserted their right to keep this issue to the fore until the truth is followed by accountability for the action. I thought actually that Kate was going to read out some of the thanks to people before I started but she's going to do that afterwards. I wasn't really quite sure where to start here today. This years events gave specific focus to the miner's strike and the Hillsborough disaster as well as the scandal that has been playing out with impunity in Rossport where the local community are under occupation by Shell and the Garda has the common wealth of the Irish people is not just given away to Shell for the taking but at the cost of the health and safety of the local people. Despite a wet, windy, wintery day around 3500 people braved the elements to march in solidarity with the victims of Bloody Sunday and other injustices.

Bernadette Devlin McAliskey's Bloody Sunday March for Justice 2013 address as delivered at Free Doire Corner on Sunday the 27th of January.īernadette McAliskey addressing the rally at this year's Bloody Sunday March For Justice which had the theme 'End Impunity'.

The Price of my Soul by Bernadette Devlin McAliskey