Tell the Truth

It has been brought to the attention of the cumann that some glaring inaccuracies have been published recently in relation to a very successful parade that took place at the end of August to re dedicate the memorial in Derrybeg. In the publication and I quote;

" At a recent PSF commemoration in the Derrybeg area of Newry no more than 100 people attended, there were roughly 10 residents in the PSF parade in an area with 1500 residents."

To suggest that only 10 residents took part in the parade which in fact had over 500 people take part shows the immaturity of the author of the article. The author also failed to mention that the families of the five IRA volunteers, who were commemorated on the night, were present and actively participated in this event and also the very successful function that took place later that same evening. Instead of attacking our strategy and our Movement the author should engage with republicans on issues that they feel are important. The electorate will decide at the next election who to support and we look forward to taking on allcomers; micro groups and others.

Removal of Overgrown Trees

Cllr Marian Mathers has expressed her thanks to Newry and Mourne Council for their efforts in addressing what had become an issue for residents from Orior Road and Helen's Terrace. The residents had contacted the Hughes Grant Watters cumann to see if anything could be done in relation to a number of overgrown trees in front of their homes. As a result a site meeting was called and the Sinn Féin councillor was able to ensure that the necessary work was carried out. Several residents have been in contact to pass on their gratitude for this long overdue work. The cumann will work with the residents to ensure that the area is maintained on a regular basis in the future.

35th Anniversary of Óglach Michael Hughes

The Hughes Grant Watters Sinn Féin cumann will commemorate the 35th anniversary of republican volunteer, Michael ‘Sticky’ Hughes on Sunday 18th October. The Hughes/Grant/Watters cumann will lay a wreath at the monument erected in his memory on Sunday.

Local Sinn Féin councillor Marian Mathers outlined the life of the young volunteer who was tragically killed when he was just 16 years old;

“Michael was born in Banbridge, County Down on 28th June 1958. He was the oldest of seven children born to Patrick and Teresa. He had one brother, John, and five sisters, Kate, Elizabeth, Angela, Lorraine and Patricia. Michael began his school life at St Peter’s primary school Cloughreagh. He did well at school and moved on to the Abbey CBS Newry and then to St Joseph’s on the Armagh Road, Newry. His teenage years were thrown into turmoil when he had to come to terms with the death of his father Patsy (also an IRA volunteer), who was tragically killed in an accidental explosion on the Dublin Road Newry. His father’s death had a huge impact on the young Michael.“From an early age Michael was active on the streets against the Crown forces and it was at this time that he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and join the ranks of Óglaigh na hÉireann. He became heavily involved in armed actions in the Derrybeg area and his leadership qualities soon impressed his comrades around him. He was a close friend and comrade of Volunteer Eddie “Starchy” Grant who also died in action as a result of an accidental explosion on Christmas Eve 1973.“As well as being an active volunteer with the IRA, Michael or “Sticky” as he was known to friends, also enjoyed his social life. He was a frequent visitor to the local community centre. His distinctive ginger hair made him easily recognizable to all. He enjoyed football and was also interested in reading books about Irish history. Being the oldest child Michael quickly realized that he would have to seek employment to assist his mother in the upbringing of the family. He secured a full time job in the near-by Nylon factory on the Armagh Road, but sadly had only completed two full weeks work when he was killed.“On Friday 18th October 1974, Volunteer Michael Hughes, while on active service for the IRA, was shot dead by members of the British Army on a commandeered bus. He was only 16 years of age. On the day of his funeral, his comrades marched along Main Avenue, Derrybeg Park in military formation in a fitting tribute to a soldier of the Irish Republican Army.“Volunteer Michael Hughes will forever be remembered with pride by his loving family, friends and comrades in the Republican Movement. It is memory of Michael and all those like him that we continue forward in pursuit of Irish freedom.”

Derrybeg Drive Garages

The cumann can announce that the issue around the garages in Derrybeg Drive has been resolved. The Housing Executive has contacted us to make us aware that the proposal for the erection of new gates at the entrance to the garages has been passed. The new gates are under constuction and it is hoped that the gates will be in situ very soon. The Housing Executive will be in contact with the garage owners in the near future to arrange the distribution of keys. Another good piece of news is that the residents from Iveagh Crescent whose homes back onto the garages will also receive keys to allow for access.

Hughes Grant Watters Cumann Active in the Community

We thought that the time was now right to outline just some of the work carried out by the Vol Hughes Grant Watters cumann in the Derrybeg area in recent months. There is no doubt that some will try and rubbish the good work done but residents know themselves who is delivering and helping on their behalf. From the outset let us congratulate the Derrybeg Community Association who have been involved in some good work also. Our job as cumann activists is to try and help and represent people from right across this area regardless of their politics or beliefs, but especially those people who continue to vote for Sinn Féin in large numbers. We will outline some of the work that the cumann and the Party were involved with in recent months.
The Old "All Weather Pitch"

This area was beginning to become a gathering point for young drivers and a number of residents contacted the cumann and the local councillor to see if anything could be done to secure this area. Cllr Mathers quickly organised a site meeting and within a short period the council had erected a number of barriers and issued local residents with keys at both the First and Second Avenue access points. After a short time it was discovered that the cars were still gaining entrance to the area via an embankment at Second Avenue. This was pointed out to the council and they quickly blocked this entrance by placing large boulders making it impossible to drive into this area.
Derrybeg Football Pitch

The cumann along with Cllr Mathers discovered that some funding was available from DSD for essential maintainance work to be carried out to Derrybeg Football pitch. Again a site meeting was called and as a result the entire outside of the pitch now has a secure ballstop. Although there is still some improvements that could happen, this was the first time in years that any sort of help was secured for the local football club. The cumann and our elected reps will continue to work on behalf of the football club.
Monuments for Local IRA Volunteers

When the cumann was established several years ago one of the first tasks was to begin fundraising to erect a permanent memorial to IRA Volunteer Michael Hughes at the spot where he was murdered by the Brits at the age of 16 while on active service. Despite the fact that this monument was attacked and badly vandalised, the cumann quickly replaced the monument with a brand new stone which now stands pride of place at the entrance to the estate. Around the same time local republicans decided that a project would be undertaken to rebuild the monument at Second Avenue with a larger and more visible monument. After a lot of hard work this was unveiled in late August by local republicans which involved a successful parade from Newry. The main speaker at this event was south Armagh republican Sean Hughes.
Old Play Park in Third Avenue

What had become a long running problem for residents of Third Avenue was that this area was being used by young people for drinking especially at the weekends resulting in anti social activity. Local people approached the cumann to see if something could be done in regards to this. With the help of councillors Marian Mathers and Brendan Curran a site meeting was called which was also attended by members of the community association, council officials and senior Housing Executive people agreed to have the area cleaned up as a matter of urgency. It is our hope that the agencies who own this piece of land can secure the area in some fashion so that people of Third Avenue don't have to live with the fear of late night drinkers on their doorsteps.
General Clean Up

The cumann have on numerous occasions successfully lobbied to have different parts of the area cleaned up and maintained when neccessary. We continue to make the council or the housing executive aware of issues wherever and whenever they occur.
Welfare Rights Issues

The cumann has been constantly involved with this important issue, one that effects everyone. As a result of the high volume of requests for this work the cumann will be organising another elected reps clinic in the coming weeks. (At the last Derrybeg Community Association AGM, Marian Mathers volunteered her services as a committee member but made it clear that due to work committments and council committments she would be unable to attend every meeting but offered her services in whatever other way she could help the committee. But after a few weeks Marian was informed by letter by the Community Association that her services were no longer required in the Community House. As a result of this decision the cumann has to look for alternative premises to hold the elected reps clinic). Here residents have a chance to meet with the elected reps and discuss problems. So it is clear to see that the local Hughes Grant Watters cumann is as active as ever and we look forward to being of assistance in the coming months for residents in this area.

Pig Hall Lonan Clean Up

After a number of calls and site meetings the council has begun to clean up the Pig Hall Lonan area of Newry. This busy small road, which links the Meadow to the Camlough Road, has seen a steady increase in traffic in recent months. Residents contacted the HGW cumann in relation to a number of issues. One by one the issues are being addressed and the council have to be commended for their speedy response. One of the major problems is that people have started dumping rubbish along this road which has resulted in a huge infestation of rats. Residents have been advised to note the registration number of vehicles that are involved in this illegal dumping and pass it onto the cumann. We will have no hesitation in passing this information onto the Environmental Health Department in the council. The cumann is still awaiting a call from the DOE to arrange a meeting in relation to the installation of traffic calming measures along this road. The residents will be kept fully informed once this meeting has been arranged. Sinn Féin councillor for the area Marian Mathers has expressed her gratitude to the council for acting so quickly on the residents concerns.

Monument Vandalised

It is sad that we have to report a spate of vandalism at the recently opened monument in Derrybeg. It was brought to our attention over the weekend that some of the photos of the fallen volunteers had been smashed. We believe that the damage was caused by youths from within the estate which makes it even more sad. The cumann would appeal to parents from the estate to ensure that their children do not use the monument as a playground. Derrybeg has some fantastic facilities and a large play area that is the envy of other areas. The monuments' in the estate were erected as a result of the generosity of local residents and others who wish to remember the sacrifise that these brave men made towards the fight for Irish unity. It is sad that young people do not understand the hurt and pain that this type of activity causes to the families of our patriot dead. Have no doubt that the monument will be restored to its former glory in the very near future.

Issues at Pig Hall Lonan

Residents from the Helen's Terrace area of the Meadow have welcomed efforts from the HGW cumann in securing a site meeting with officials from N&MDC including Environmental Health and the Parks departments. The officials were shown around the area and they were told about ongoing problems at first hand by the residents. The resdients have major concerns about the lack of attention being paid to the Pig Hall Lonan area in general which they have to use on a daily basis to access their homes. The bank at the bottom of Sandy's Field is infested with rats due to illegal dumping. The residents have demanded that the trees are cut back and that the entire area be properly maintained on a regular basis. (The HGW cumann have a number of photographs of the area in question for future reference). The officials gave a guarantee that the clean up of the area would commence almost immediately.

Another serious issue for the residents is the fact that Pig Hall Lonan is constantly being used as a shortcut by motorists once the busy Camlough Road starts to back up with traffic. These residents' front gardens lead directly to this road and there is nothing at all in place to slow motorists down. The residents are demanding that some sort of traffic calming measures are put in place before a child is seriously injured or killed on this road. They rightfully point out the fact that there are speed ramps on the main Meadow Road so why not here also. The cumann had asked an official from DOE Roads to attend the meeting but due to other committments they couldn't attend. However, the cumann has been in touch with DOE Roads again and they have been told that another meeting to deal specifically with this issue will be organised in the very near future. The local cumann will keep the residents informed of this.

Bonfire Material

Concerned residents from the Iveagh Crescent area of the Meadow contacted cumann members yesterday to complain about tyres and pallets that were being stored close to their homes. Sinn Féin councillor Marian Mathers contacted the Environmental Health and the Housing Executive to arrange a site meeting. The council officials spoke with local people and as a result have arranged for the material to removed safely and disposed off from the area immediately. An official from the Housing Executive also attended the meeting and spoke at length to residents. She heard at first hand how the garages were being used, especially at weekends, by drug dealers as a drop off point. She also saw for herself that the garage area was being used to store the bonfire material. She listened to the concerns of the residents and heard at first hand what they would like done to secure the area. It has been agreed that the Housing Executive will send an engineer into the garages to assess the access point with the hope that a new set of gates can be installed in the very near future. There were a number of garage owners in attendance at the meeting along with residents whose homes back onto the garages and these people will have sole access to the garages when the site is secured. Cllr Mathers acknowledged the short notice of the meeting and she thanked all who had turned up. The residents also sent messages of thanks to the local cumann for listening to their concerns and organising the site meeting at such short notice.

Overgrown Trees in Orior Road

Council Officials have told Orior Road residents that work will commence on the cutting back of trees and bushes at the bottom of Sandy's Field near the end of October. The residents were told that the reason for the delay in this work was the fact that the grass cutting season hasn't finished yet. A committment was given by the Official to lower the height of the trees to the same level of the fence. The residents have agreed to keep in touch with cumann members to ensure that this work takes place as promised. The cumann would like to thank the council for the speedy response to the meeting with residents.