A Shrine Worth Fighting For

Former Blanket columnist Dr John Coulter casts his Revolutionary Unionist eye over the Maze 'shrine' debate. This is a version of his regular column in the British Labour Party's Tribune magazine which featured on the 5th October 2012.

When is a shrine not a shrine? That’s the big winter row now that the Stormont summer recess is over. The shrine debate focuses on the development of the former Maze prison site near Lisburn city. At one time, it was the most famous – or notorious – high security jail in Western Europe, housing some of the Irish Troubles’ toughest republican and loyalist paramilitary inmates.


Its history means it will probably be remembered as the location where 10 IRA and INLA inmates died on hunger strike in 1981, including Westminster MP Bobby Sands. It was also the 1983 setting for the biggest break-out of republican inmates in scenes reminiscent of the blockbuster movie, The Great Escape. Nearly 40 IRA men broke out, but many were re-captured.

With the 1998 Good Friday Agreement ensuring that power-sharing between Sinn Fein and the DUP is rock solid in the Assembly, the former Maze jail is in an ideal location geographically, and boasts some prime development land.

Already, Northern Ireland’s premier agricultural show, the annual Balmoral event, is moving from Belfast to the Maze, guaranteeing a huge boost in visitors and revenue. But the economic benefits have been vastly overshadowed by the decision to develop part of the jail itself into a type of historical visitors’ centre. While many republicans will see this as a lasting tribute to their role in the conflict, Unionists are branding it as a shrine to IRA murder.

There is no doubt given the central role which the Maze once had in the conflict, a commemoration building of some kind would serve as an historical and educational platform for existing and future generations.With clever design and pro-active marketing, the Maze memorial building can become a permanent reminder of the sacrifice of many factions in the Troubles.

It should not be forgotten that the British Army, police and prison service had major roles in the conflict. The Maze was also home to many hundreds of the security force members during its lifetime. They need to be honoured. And many of Northern Ireland’s loyalist terrorist groups had members jailed and even murdered inside the Maze.

One of the most controversial incidents happened in December 1997 when Billy Wright – dubbed King Rat- the founder and leader of the terror gang, the Loyalist Volunteer Force, was murdered inside the jail by three members of the INLA.

The jail has housed some of the North’s most infamous paramilitary prisoners from both loyalism and republicanism, including the late Gusty Spence, the man who founded the modern UVF, and Gerry Kelly, now a leading Stormont Sinn Fein Assembly member, but who also masterminded the Maze escape. Republicans, loyalists and the various wings of the security forces – police, Army and prison service – could all claim the Maze as a shrine to former personnel or fallen comrades.

The dilemma is that the Maze shrine has created a massive row over a league of victims. Which victims are more important than others? Loyalists say their members were jailed for defending Ulster from the republican threat. Republicans see themselves as a genuine army fighting British imperialism. The security forces and prison service say their members were merely doing their duty.

The war of words has now firmly erupted over what constitutes a provocative shine, and what is a museum for education. Unionists have already staged protest rallies outside the former jail. Whether it is three separate sections – republicans, loyalists and security forces – inside the one building, or three buildings for each section, the Maze centre on the Troubles will rumble for months to come.

Perhaps the situation will deteriorate into the farcical scenes which developed at Stormont’s Parliament Buildings when floral displays had to be guarded to prevent them from being vandalised by rival political factions.

One fact is certain, unless a workable solution to the Maze commemoration centre is found, it will become a political Biblical-style milestone around the necks of future generations.

The ideal solution is for the Maze centre to become an educational establishment where visitors from Ireland, Britain and abroad come to learn about the horrors of the conflict and leave with the firm conclusion that the peace process must work and Ireland must never again become soaked in blood.

Now that would be a shrine worth fighting for. 

4 comments:

  1. Talking of Shrine's-

    At joe o'connor's new headstone unveiling on saturday the RNU give a platform to the fascist group Craoibn Gal Greainne- they also allowed the nazi lovers to lay a wreath at this event- stupid is what the RNU does-

    ReplyDelete
  2. michaelhenry

    you may be right, you're an authority on that subject. DELIBERATELY too for some reason as yet unknown....as yet!


    i would like to see a shrine at the blocks, maybe mackers can do a re-enactment for the tourists?

    ReplyDelete
  3. michaelhenry

    for marty mi6 to deliver his stormont speech and geraldo adams to sink his late father and dip the entire family in a slurry tank and peg them out to dry without even takin a redner, either of them sums it all up. That you can blindly follow such shameless 'turds with egos' is just pittiful. God help those unfortunate enough to have paid the ultimate sacrifice. They even refuse to shed the green flag whilst doing their dirty doings.

    talkin of dirty-doings..i for one dont require any re-enactment at the 'blocks' i thought about that and am still regretting thinking about it...hold fire mackers!! tourists and trauma springs to mind.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Did Gerry Kelly mastermind the Maze escape, he played a leading role perhaps, but I never heard he was 'the mastermind'

    ReplyDelete