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LAST UPDATE | 30 Jun 2020
A LARGE CROWD of mourners gathered in west Belfast today for the funeral service for veteran republican Bobby Storey.
The former leading IRA member died earlier this month at the age of 64 following an unsuccessful lung transplant.
Storey, from west Belfast, was a highly influential presence within the republican movement throughout the Troubles and subsequent peace process.
He spent more than 20 years in prison during the Troubles. He was sentenced to 18 years for possession of a rifle in 1981 and also spent several periods behind bars remanded on other charges.
As a teenager, he had been interned without charge, while in 1983 he was involved in a mass escape by republican prisoners from the Maze paramilitary prison near Lisburn.
Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald, vice president Michelle O’Neill and former president Gerry Adams were among hundreds in the Andersonstown Road area this morning as the cortege left Storey’s home and travelled to St Agnes’ church.
The coffin was draped in an Irish tricolour.
Stormont finance minister Conor Murphy, North Belfast MLA Gerry Kelly and Donegal TD Pearse Doherty were among other high-profile Sinn Fein figures who attended.
Former Sinn Fein MEP and current Foyle MLA Martina Anderson was part of a guard of honour formed for Storey outside the church.
Speaking at the graveside, Adams accused Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party of forming a government to exclude Sinn Féin from power.
“They are entitled to do that, but their refusal to talk to the Sinn Féin leadership is a sad little undemocratic throwback to the way the unionist leaders used to behave.”
“They will fail. Just as the unionists failed in their exclusion policies,” he said.
Calling Sinn Féin an “open, democratic, national movement”, he said that “we are glad and we are proud that Bob and other former IRA volunteers are part of what we are”.
“We are proud of Bob and the others when they were IRA volunteers. They and their support base – our republican family, our community, republican Ireland – defeated the British army in this city and in these six counties,” he said.
Criticism
Some politicians and figures in Northern Ireland have criticised the crowds at the funeral.
Coronavirus regulations in the North state that a maximum of 30 people are allowed to gather outdoors, with social distancing in place.
Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie contrasted O’Neill’s public utterances on limiting numbers at funerals to her attendance at today’s event.
“Having watched families unable to attend funerals or be with their loved one as they passed away I think this undermines the credibility of our Executive Office,” he tweeted.
Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister said Ms O’Neill’s position was no longer tenable.
“In light of the fact that Ms O’Neill is today present with many hundreds of others at the funeral of Bobby Storey her position is untenable,” he said.
“Her conduct is grossly offensive and insulting to the many law-abiding people who have made the huge sacrifice of foregoing a normal funeral as they said farewell to family members who died recently.”
Naomi Long, the leader of the Alliance Party and Northern Irish Justice Minister, said that “gathering in crowds for any reason is dangerous”.
While not referencing the funeral or Sinn Féin specifically, she said: “As I have said too many times to count, I recognise that funerals are a sensitive issue. People want to pay respects to their loved ones and support the family in their grief.”
“But Covid-19 does not recognise any of that,” she said. “Many families have endured burying a loved one alone, to help save lives. When others ignore the rules, that compounds their hurt and pain. And when those who make the rules, break the rules, it is is more hurtful still for all who made huge sacrifices to obey the regulations.”
Fine Gael TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill also criticised the crowds at the funeral. “Why are Sinn Féin preaching one thing about Covid-19 restrictions and then practising something else? Does Mary Lou stand over this?” she tweeted.
With reporting from Dominic McGrath
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It’s a joke of an industry,
Many of the people I know who worked in it have left because creches want them to have degrees but they’ll pay them barely over min wage with next to no chance of any increases.
The money is made by the creche owners and certainly not the staff, the staff work crazy long hours with feck all pay.
The industry badly needs to be taken under the department of education
@Barry Somers: A lot of industries in Ireland operate that way. I know people working in manufacturing jobs taking home 329 euro for a 40 hour week. No pension, no benefits and no hope.
@Barry Somers: with it being 1800/1900 for two kids in Dublin then you know it’s not going to the workers
@David Corrigan: do they also have degrees to work in that industry though?
Even call centres pay more then child care and you don’t need a degree to get the call centre job.
@Barry Somers: No they would not have degrees to be honest with you Barry. 40 hour week working in an engineering environment.
Yet we are up there with the highest child care costs in Europe.
@Derek Durkin: on account of the insurance costs. The creches have to pay the ever increasing insurance premiums and then the government comes up with another new standard they have to adhere to which costs more again. While the fees are high, the creches aren’t exactly sitting on mounds of money.
@Derek Durkin: Yep, it’s only about 120 euro per child per month in Sweden. But we prefer to cut income taxes which makes services private at high cost to the individual, marvellous capitalism that destroys the family unit and only benefits the rich. https://sweden.se/society/10-things-that-make-sweden-family-friendly/
@Niall O’Neill: hey, the powers that be in this country have been trying to destroy the family unit for hundreds of years.
Remember our leader is of the opinion that you can get your rich parents to pay for it, or if you don’t have them you can leave.
Why does it come as a surprise to childcare workers that it is poorly paid? I have no kids and know nothing about kids, but I know it is and always has been a poorly paid job.
@John Horan: But it shouldn’t be so low that those working full time cannot make ends meet. If you work full time you should be able to afford to live, no matter what your job is.
@Chris Judge: I agree 100%.
@Chris Judge: Whether it should be or not isn’t really the issue. On a personal level why would you go into an industry knowing it is badly paid. As for no matter what job it should be a wage that you can live on is a new concept. Many jobs were only ever supplementary incomes worked part time. To change that whole nature will take a long time
@Craic_a_tower: Who cares what the reasons are – someone has to do it, so why question those who do?
It’s looking after kids, which is a very hard job and I respect them for it. They should be paid a decent salary.
I’d assume the main issue is the insurance costs for running a nursery/creche drive prices up, so very little of the money they make goes to the workers.
@Chris Judge: it seems fair to question people who complain about poor wages in a sector where everyone else knows it is poorly paid. There are people doing it on those wages.
Do you worry about landlords getting a decent return? Did you run to their defence when renting at a loss?
@Chris Judge: then don’t sign up for the job. The market will soon adjust when there is nobody willing to do the job
@Craic_a_tower: I assume people go into childcare because they see it as a rewarding job that they like and think they would be good at. Isn’t this what everyone should be doing? Pay is a seperate issue.
The answer is to go on strike and then see what happen they could bring the country to a standstill
Where is the money going? The creche fees in this country are outrageous.
A sure fire way of not retaining and attracting quality staff,
@David Walsh: and you have to jump through hoops to get the job to be paid peanuts..qualifications, Garda vetting, first aid training etc forget it, sure it not even a living wage and a lot of them end up going on the dole during summer if creches/montessoris and they become seasonally unemployed. It’s a mug’s game.
As a preschool teacher I can say how undervalued the industry is in this country which is why I’m currently emigrating to Australia where it is valued and recognised in wages! I do it for the love of the job but it’s getting ridiculous here. I’m at the top of the scale in this country (plus the pay cut we had to take in the recession due to cut in funding) and it’s a joke!
@Siobh: “I do it for the love of the job”
“So I’m going to Australia because they pay more”
Helicopter parents don’t help litigating when their kid falls over or bumps into something. Insurance companies will use that as justification to increase the premiums.
Childcare is a good career in the uk
Bring in a sectoral employment order
Time for the Department of Education to wake up !! This is Early Years Education…not a babysitting service. Some of my friends are teachers, I have more qualifications and training than they do. As pointed out above we also, cook, clean, advise etc…
It’s the same in a lot of jobs in Ireland, workers are struggling to make ends meet. I work in a multinational and several people in my area head to a second job after work. This is what FF/FG have done to our country. Cost of living WAY too high – people are no longer ‘living’, they’re merely existing.
have your say