The killing of Eddie Fullerton: Nakba – the expulsion of the Palestinians

The killing of Eddie Fullerton

In March 1984 I was shot as I andfour friends drove from Belfast Court. We were driving up May St. at the backof the City Hall when our car was fired on from a passing vehicle. Four of us –myself, Sean Keenan, Joe Keenan, and Kevin Rooney - were hit. Bob Murray escapedinjury. I was wounded in the neck, shoulder and upper body. We were blessed by incompetentassassins, UDA members and surrogates of the British system. 

Shortly after this Colette and Itravelled to Donegal for me to recuperate. Friends of Martin McGuinness, whohad a mobile home not far from Buncrana in the Inis Eoghain peninsula, verykindly gave us the use of it. A local republican, not long out of prison inEngland, the late Réamonn Mac Lochlainn and his wife Mary – parents of PádraigMacLochlainn TD - made sure we were not lacking in any home comforts.

Among those who were frequentvisitors was local Councillor Eddie Fullerton and his friend Jim Farry. Theylooked after us. Their craic was mighty. Eddie took great pleasure in bringingme about Inis Eoghain. He told me the history of this very beautiful part ofthe world.

Eddie brought me to the littlequay, close to Crana Bridge, where the Crana River meets Lough Swilly. It washere that Wolfe Tone landed after his capture on Lough Swilly by the Britishforces in 1798. Known locally as the ‘stone jug’ a memorial to Eddie now standsalongside the Wolfe Tone memorial stone on that historic spot.

Eddie was assassinated at his homein Buncrana by the UDA in May 1991. He was one of three Sinn Féin Councillors,Leas Uachtarán Máire Drumm, 17 party members and four family members who werethe victim of British state collusion during the years of conflict.

Last week on the 32nd anniversaryof his murder I joined his family in the Lake of Shadows Hotel, Buncrana forthe launch of my latest Léargas book - ‘Councillor Eddie Fullerton:Visionary. Patriot. Martyr.’ It tells the remarkable story of Eddie from hisbirth in 1935, through his formative years in Inis Eoghain, his journey toScotland and England, his marriage in Birmingham to Dinah and his return toDonegal. My thanks to Richard McAuley for his assistance with research andDanny Morisson for proof reading. 

The book recountsEddie’s activism as a Sinn Féin Councillor. It also provides detail – drawnfrom the family and from the Police Ombudsman’s Operation Medina and OperationGreenwich reports, on the extent of British state collusion in his murder andthe failure of the Irish government to challenge the British government’scover-up of this.

Eddie was a larger than lifecharacter with a big mop of hair, a thick beard and a voice to match. He andDinah had six children; Johnny, Marina, Albert, Amanda, Anita and Eddie. SadlyAlbert was killed in a road traffic accident in 2006.

         With Dinah - Eddie's wife

Eddie was also a frequentcontributor at our annual Ard Fheis and other party conferences. He was anaturally gifted and inspirational speaker who marshalled his argumentslogically and presented them passionately. When speaking at the Ard Fheis hewould always run over the allotted time. On one occasion I remember the sessionChair Seán McManus vainly attempting to call Eddie’s contribution to a halt.

“You are overtime speaker andthere are other contributors waiting to speak. Will you please wrap yourremarks up!”

He tried to interrupt Eddie againand again and again. Eddie didn’t flinch. He kept right on going.

Finally after another very sternwarning from the Chair Eddie turned to him and said with a big grin:

“Look, I have had to travel onehundred and sixty three miles to get here. And that’s not counting theroundabouts! So I’m gonna speak and I’m going to finish.” And he did.That was Eddie.

    Amanda Fullerton agus mise talking to the audience

On one infamous occasion theprejudice of the southern political establishment saw an Irish governmentMinister refuse to meet a Council delegation because Eddie was part of it.Rather than see his colleagues miss the opportunity to speak to the MinisterEddie withdrew from the meeting.

For years Eddie campaigned to havea dam built to supply water to Buncrana and local businesses. Eventually hesucceeded. It was constructed in Pollen Valley outside the town. It took twelveyears to complete. It was named after Eddie. Years later Martin McGuinnesswrote a poem about it.

This Léargas is a celebration ofthe life of Eddie Fullerton - his activism, his republicanism and his family.It also tells the story of collusion and of the background to his murder.

I would urge all of you to supportEddie’s family in their efforts to force the Irish government to stand up fortheir right to truth and to challenge the British government’s efforts toprevent this, especially through the current Legacy Bill.

 

This is the ninth publication inGerry Adams Léargas series and a tenth will be published in June celebratingthe activism of Fra McCann and Alex Maskey. In August a Léargas about RitaO’Hare will also be published.

‘Councillor Eddie Fullerton:Visionary. Patriot. Martyr.’ is available from The Sinn Féin bookshop, 58Parnell Square, Dublin 1 –  www.sinnfeinbookshop.com  and from AnFhuiseog 55 Falls Road BT12 4PD and  www.thelarkstore.ie

 

 

Fullerton’s Dam

by Martin McGuinness

Purple-heathered hillsides clothe the peaty bogsleaching streams of water swimming pools for frogs.

Down along the glenside a richbrown vein does run to meet and greet another beneath the rising sun.

Here below twin bridges theCrana springs to life amid kamikaze midges where father found his wife.

At castle gates salmon waitsout in the Swilly blue for destiny and a leaper’s spate to bring her home sotrue.

A creator with an earthy facedecreed his plan would make this valley the perfect place to gather raindropsin a lake.

 

Nakba – the expulsion of the Palestinians

May marked the75th anniversary of the Nakba or Catastrophe – the forcible expulsionof three quarters of a million Palestinians from their homes by Israeli forcesin 1948. On 15 May 1948 the Israeli state was formally recognised by the UnitedNations. The expulsion of Palestinians which had been going on was stepped up.750,000 Palestinian people were dispossessed and forced to become refugees intheir own land. Israel ethnically cleansed over 500 villages and killed 15,000Palestinians.

Today Palestinians are subject tothe apartheid regime that is Israel. More than three million livein the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and are subject to ongoing arrest,internment, daily attack and murder, the theft of land and water resources andthe destruction of homes and schools.

Two million Palestinians live inthe Gaza Strip under an Israeli siege. And almost two million more Palestinianslive in Israel where they are subject to extensive discrimination by a systemof structured political and economic discrimination.

As a result ofIsraeli policy there are almost eight million Palestinian refugees.

In solidarity withthe Palestinian people Sinn Fein TD John Brady recently introduced legislationin the Oireachtas calling on the Irish government to instruct the IrishStrategic Investment Fund to divest itself of all current assets belonging tocompanies operating within illegal Israeli settlements that are in breach ofinternational law.

However, while the Irish governmentclaims to support the Bill it has chosen to block the legislation fromprogressing by attacking the UN Human Rights Council Database on which the billis premised. As a result the Irish state remains financially connected to theactions of Israel within the illegal settlements.

Its attitude on this is similarto its approach to the motion passed by Oireachtas in December 2014 that called on the government to ‘officiallyrecognise the State of Palestine, on the basis of the 1967 borders with EastJerusalem as the capital, as established in UN resolutions, as a furtherpositive contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution to theIsraeli-Palestinian conflict.”

The motion was passed butthe Irish government has done nothing to advance it. Shame on it. If you want to knowmore about the Nakba watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IFsj6Y3xfs