Isabell Barbour - 'A woman of courage and conviction' remembered

Sadly, Isabell died in her sleep while on holiday in Benidorm, Spain on October 17, 2026.

Isabell was the beloved mother of Kevin, Eoghan and Claire and the devoted Granny of Leo and Ella. She was the precious daughter of the late Dinky and Betty Anderson, and a much loved sister of Robert, Helen, Jack, Peter, Noeleen, Christine, Martina, Sharon and the late Sheena. She will be sadly missed by all of her nieces, nephews, wider family circle, friends and neighbours.

Isabell’s Requiem Mass took place in St Columba’s Church, Long Tower and she was buried afterwards in Derry City Cemetery.

The oration at Isabell’s graveside was delivered by her comrade and friend Lynn Fleming, former Waterside Sinn Féín councillor and Mayor of Derry.

“Today, we gather with heavy hearts to remember, honour and celebrate the life of a remarkable woman, a proud Irish republican, a devoted mother and grandmother, a loyal friend, a fearless comrade, and a woman whose courage, conviction and strength will never be forgotten,” began Lynn Fleming. “Today, we remember Isabell Barbour/Anderson.

“For me Isabell was never simply a name, a comrade or a familiar face in the Republican movement. I have known Isabell and the Anderson family for all of my adult life. Our history together stretches back decades. Many a night I have stayed in the Anderson family home, and on countless occasions I have stood alongside Isabell and Rosie. We shared experiences, struggles, laughter, difficult days and moments that only those who lived through them can truly understand.

“There are so many stories I could tell about Isabell. Some would make you laugh, some would bring a tear to your eye, and others would remind you of the extraordinary times in which we lived. And sadly, there are stories that will never be told, memories and experiences that Isabell has now taken to the grave with her. They are part of her history, part of our history and part of the untold story of the many women who gave so much during those years.

“Isabell was a woman of tremendous courage and backbone. She was a proud member of Cumann na mBan, and she carried that identity with enormous pride.

“She believed that women had their own place, their own voice and their own identity within the Republican struggle. She did not take kindly to the merger, because she never wanted the identity of Cumann na mBan to be lost or diminished. She wanted the women to be recognised for who they were, what they stood for and what they had contributed.

“And that tells you so much about Isabell. She was a woman who knew her own mind.

“She was not one to be easily silenced, pushed aside or told to stand back. If she believed in something, she stood by it, if she thought something was wrong, she said so and if she believed that women deserved recognition, respect and a voice of their own, then she would stand her ground.

“That was Isabell.

“Fierce in her convictions, unshakeable in her principles and loyal to the very end.

“Her years of active service came at a great personal cost. On one occasion Isabell was injured when a device prematurely exploded as she was carrying it. She had to be cared for and brought back to health, but Isabell was not someone who allowed the injury to define her, defeat her, and it certainly didn't deter her. Thankfully she survived, recovered and lived to fight another day. That determination was part of her very being.

“In 1981, One of the darkest years in the Republican calendar, Derry brigade Oglaigh na hÉireann were asked to provide an honour guard for three of our brave hungerstrikers - Frances Hughes, Thomas Mc Elwee and Martin Hurson.

“These were deeply emotional and significant moments in our history. Isabell along with Gerry Mc Cartney, another stalwart of the Republican Movement, were given the task of ensuring that those taking part conducted themselves with the dignity and discipline befitting such an occasion. I'm not exaggerating when I say they carried out their task with military precision, they understood the grief of the families, the weight of the occasion and the responsibility that rested on those who stood in honour of our patriot dead.

“But to speak of Isabell only in terms of her political convictions and her years of struggle would be only to tell part of her story, because behind that formidable woman was a woman who loved deeply, who carried her family in her heart and who understood loyalty in its most personal and profound form.

“Isabell married Twinkle Barbour and for more than 13 years she visited him in Long Kesh. Before Twinkle went to jail Isabell had Kevin her first born son whom she always described as her rock who she could not survive without, and then came Eoghan, her blue-eyed boy’, a son she loved so dearly.

“When Clare, her daughter, gave birth to baby Leo, Isabell embraced being a grandmother and for the first year of Leo's life was his doting granny - Isabell together with the network of people around her which included Rosie, Eoghan and Lauren who helped care for him - with Kevin always there for them all.

“That love, that attention and that sense of family will always be part of Leo's story. As he grows older, he will have the privilege of hearing about the woman who loved him, who helped care for him and who wanted the very best for him.

“To Kevin, Eoghan, Clare, little Leo and baby Ella: your mother and grandmother was a woman of extraordinary strength, but she was also a woman whose heart was filled with love for you. Her life was about far more than the struggles she faced. It was about the family she cherished, the people she stood by and the love she gave so freely.

“Isabell also visited her sister Martina in Brixton prison and then Durham jail in England. She was central to the stop strip searching campaign, another human rights abuse which Martina and her comrade Ella suffered many times on a daily basis. I remember a photo of Isabell and Oglaigh Maired Farrell protesting about this degrading treatment, once again showing the solidarity of Republican women.

“There is no doubt that Isabell was a solid Irish republican, she believed deeply in the Republican movement and in the ideals that had shaped her life. Her politics were not something she put on for an occasion, they were part of her identity, part of her history and part of the convictions by which she lived.

“Isabell was a rebel, and she remained a rebel to the end of her days.

“Perhaps one of the hardest things to accept is how suddenly her life came to an end. Isabell died while on holiday in Benidorm, in the company of her best friend and comrade Rosie.

“There is something profoundly heartbreaking about that. A woman whose life was so intertwined with others, whose friendships had endured for decades, whose presence had been woven into the lives of so many, gone so suddenly.

“Rosie, I cannot begin to imagine the pain you are carrying. Chris, Alex and yourself were traumatised by Isabell’s sudden death. You have lost your best friend Rosie, your comrade and a woman with whom you shared so much of your life. The memories you hold, the experiences you shared and the Republican bond between you cannot be measured in words. Your heart is broken, as are the hearts of all those who loved her.

“And to every member of the Anderson and Barbour families, and to all Isabell's friends and comrades: please know that you do not stand alone in your grief. Isabell belonged to her family but she also held a place in the hearts and memories of so many others who will feel her loss because her life touched so many.

“Today, we cannot bring Isabell back. We cannot ask her for one more story, hear one more sharp remark, share one more laugh or watch her stand her ground one more time. We cannot tell her all the things we might have thought there would be time to tell her. But we can do something important, we can remember her with love and pride. We can tell her stories. We can honour the woman she was, the mother and grandmother she loved being, the friend she remained and the Irish republican convictions she carried throughout her life. We can ensure that the women who stood, struggled and sacrificed alongside their comrades are not forgotten and that Isabell's contribution remains part of our collective memory.

“And Isabell has left us a lifetime of wonderful memories.

“I will remember the girl and the woman I knew over all those decades. I will remember the courage, the determination, the loyalty and the backbone. I will remember the family home, the shared experiences and the many occasions I stood alongside Isabel and Rosie - two of the best. I will remember a woman who never stopped being true to herself.

“Isabell, you have left us far too suddenly and you leave a space that can never be filled. But you will not be forgotten, not by your family, especially not her sisters: Helen , Noeleen, Christine, Martina and Sharon, her brothers Robert, Jack and Peter - not by your friends, not by your comrades - and certainly not by those of us who had the privilege of knowing across the years.

“May your children draw strength from the life you live.

“May little Leo and Ella grow up knowing the extraordinary woman their granny was.

“May Rosie find comfort in the memories of a friendship that death cannot erase.

“And may your family find peace in knowing just how many people loved you and how sorely you will be missed.

“A proud Cumann na mban woman, a devoted mother and grandmother. A loyal friend and comrade. A woman of courage, conviction and an unbreakable spirit.

“A rebel in life, and a rebel to the very end.

“Until we meet again Isabell, rest peacefully in the loving arms of your Mother Betty and your Father Dinky.”

Isabell’s Month Mind Mass will take place in St Eugene’s Cathedral, Derry on Saturday, November 28 at 7:30pm.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis.