These are my paternal great grandparents William Feagan and his wife Lucy (neé O’Brien). William was one of the last Catholics to work at Harland & Wolff, Belfast in early 20th C. When his boss refused to sack him because of his religion, the family were told their house would 1/
be set on 🔥. They were given a time. A threat disguised as a friendly warning. Luckily they took it seriously & made their way under cover of darkness to docks - at 2am while their house burned, they were on boat to Glasgow with their young family, inc my gran Caitlín then 5. 2/
They then got 2nd boat back to Ireland to Carlingford, south of the border. Meanwhile fire brigades were being blocked from saving their house. After a few months they moved to and settled in Cork city. Last Sunday I checked out their old house on Dominick St and had a wander 3/
I rang my Dad while exploring to check I had the right house & he told me of his visits from Galway to his Gran Lucy, & the times he spent playing hurling with his brother on the narrow street. If they didn’t catch the sliotar it rolled down hill, around corner & into the Lee! 4/
It seemed fitting that I followed my exploration with a few drinks in the lovely Sin É pub nearby, watching Cork in All Ireland hurling final. Afaik neither my Gran nor her parents ever returned to Falls Rd, Belfast to their old 🏠 . The Belfast pograms have been largely 5/
forgotten, at least in the South but they continue to leave a scar. History is important, these stories are important and it’s vital that people in NI but also in GB and in Republic are given opportunity to learn about these traumatic events that have repercussions to this day.
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