The Obit

I just found this article about my aunt Emma at the utv site.

On another website I found her story, which is also in a book I own about women from the north of Ireland. This was written in 1995 I believe.


It was on the 4th November 1971 and the British
Army was in the district raiding houses. It was in
the early hours of the morning, which was the
normal time when they raided houses. All my
children had to be taken from their beds and as
I'm the mother of 11 children, the youngest at the
time was 5 years of age. It was very annoying and
upsetting for the children to sit and watch the
British Army ransack their home and pull
everything apart.
They had been arresting some men in the street and
one of those arrested was a neighbour of mine. He
was the father of 4 young children and his wife
was in a very distressed state. I left my house
and went to comfort her. I made some tea, got the
children dressed and gave her a tablet to try and
settle her down. I tried to assure her that her
husband would only be held a few hours. As it
turned out he was held for several years. I heard
someone shout that the paratroopers were coming
into the district so I returned to my home.
Everyone in the area was put under house arrest
which meant a soldier was put in every doorway and
no one was allowed in or out. The paratroopers
were in a very aggressive mood and were pulling
young men and boys from their homes, some in just
their bare feet, some with just their shirts and
trousers on.
I had pulled up my venetian blind and was looking
out the window and what I saw was very
frustrating. I didn't know whether to scream or
cry. The very last thing I ever saw was a young
man having his head banged off a Saracen. I told
my teenage daughter, "For God's sake, put on a
record to boost our morale". She put on "Four
Green Fields" and it had only been playing a few
minutes when a paratrooper stepped in front of my
window and fired directly into my face. This
happened in front of my children who were by this
time in hysterics. I was later told my face was in
a terrible state and the blood was everywhere. My
husband threw a towel over my face and tried to
get me out to the car to get me to hospital. One
of my neighbours from across the street ran out to
help and the soldiers threatened to shoot him. He
told them to go ahead but was going to help me no
matter what. They at first refused to let us leave
the district but my husband pulled the towel away
to show the terrible injuries and they finally let
us go.
At the hospital my eyes were so badly damaged they
had to be removed. I now wear artificial eyes and
had to receive plastic surgery to build up the
bridge of my nose. After my eyes were removed, my
family couldn't bring themselves to tell me I
would never see again. Mother Theresa of Calcutta
was in Belfast at that time and it was her who
came to my bedside and told me my eyes had been
removed. I went into very deep depression and just
wanted to die for when you are the mother of 11
children and a very active person it was very hard
to accept.
I was taken home and remained in my bedroom for a
very long time. My oldest daughter was taken out
of school and had to be mother and housekeeper to
the rest of the family. Eventually, after a lot of
help and prayers, I realised I would have to come
to terms with my blindness. It was very hard. I
missed seeing the children's faces and the colour
of the trees and flowers and going out for walks
doing the shopping.
The rubber bullet which had shot me was then
replaced with the plastic bullet and many children
were being killed and injured. I decided I would
have to get involved in trying to have these
lethal weapons banned, so I joined the United
Campaign Against Plastic Bullets. With other
members I have travelled the world to tell people
my story and enlist their support in our campaign.
I received compensation for my injuries but to
this day I couldn't tell you the name of the
soldier who shot me. He was never prosecuted and I
never received the justice I desperately wanted,
for him to appear in court and tell me why he
shattered my life that day.
To date 17 people have been killed with rubber and
plastic bullets, 8 of them school children and
hundreds more severely injured. Over £1,000,000
has been paid out in compensation but only one
member of the security forces has ever been
charged in connection with the deaths and injuries
and he was acquitted.
Plastic bullets are still being used in Northern
Ireland and have been fired on several occasions
since the cease-fire.