Former hunger striker Raymond McCartney reflects on turbulent Derry life
‘We were ordinary people, the political situation was not’ - Raymond McCartney
The penultimate instalment of the ‘Did Ye Hear About’ Lecture Series on Tuesday last saw Derry’s Raymond McCartney, former hunger striker and Foyle MLA, talk to Pat McArt on his turbulent life and times, growing up in Derry, coming from a Nationalist working class family and playing a part in The Troubles and the Peace Process.
On his release from Long Kesh in 1994 he went into politics and served as a Sinn Fein MLA for the Foyle constituency from 2004 to 2020.
McCartney’s life, in many ways, mirrors much of the Troubles here.
Born in 1954 in a city which had witnessed much of the worst excesses of the old Stormont regime – discrimination in housing and jobs, widespread gerrymandering etc – the suppressed anger locally was to prove the catalyst for the outrage that exploded in the late 1960’s when Catholics in their thousands took to the streets to protest at the blatant inequalities.
In what was to prove a riveting hour of conversation, Raymond McCartney explained that he had been born into what most people would regard as ‘an ordinary Derry family’ but that the political situation which surrounded them was far from ordinary.
While at St Columb’s College he grew increasingly aware of discrimination and bigotry, and the fact that the nationalist community was expected to ‘bow the knee’.
So, he explained, ‘choices had to be made’ in regard to how that situation was to be opposed.
He took the option to join the IRA, and was to spend almost twenty years in jail where he was also to go on hunger strike.
He vividly recalled that it was a very difficult time in the struggle, admitting that it was traumatic not just for those inside Long Kesh but also for the families and community outside the H-Blocks.
This period is now, he said, rightly regarded as a seminal era in Irish history.
When asked if he regretted anything, he commented: “I am a bit loath to answer a question like this because you have to be sensitive to the hurt in our community. But I see it a bit like that film ‘Sliding Doors.’ If you choose one option, you regret not doing the other. We all had to make choices, and I did what I believed to be right. I have no regrets about that.
As regards to the political journey he undertook, he commented:: ‘We fought for a just settlement. I see the Good Friday Agreement not as a perfect thing, not as a destination but as a journey. It gives us the option to have options, to move the cause of Irish unity forward.’
Speaking after Tuesday’s event, organiser, Chris McDonagh said: ‘The penultimate in the Series saw a full house to hear what Raymond had to say on his time on hunger strike and growing up in Derry in the 60s and 70s. We were delighted to see so many people through the door and proof, if it were needed, that this type of programme is well supported and works.’
The last in the series will see the chair, former Derry Journal editor and author, Pat McArt and Jude Collins, writer, author and broadcaster being interviewed by Garbhan Downey. This will take place on Tuesday, 26th May at the Gasyard. Anyone looking to attend is asked to check on the NMT’s Social Media page for registration details.
‘Did Ye Hear About. . . . ? A Mythbusting Lecture Series’ is part of the Connections – A Peace Barrier Project, organised by the Neighbourhood Management Team and funded by the International Fund For Ireland.