{"id":2844,"date":"2014-11-10T09:05:34","date_gmt":"2014-11-10T09:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.longkeshinsideout.co.uk\/?p=2844"},"modified":"2014-11-10T09:05:34","modified_gmt":"2014-11-10T09:05:34","slug":"who-shall-unite-us-cicero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.longkeshinsideout.co.uk\/?p=2844","title":{"rendered":"Who Shall Unite Us?: Cicero"},"content":{"rendered":"

Quae Iungant Nos<\/strong><\/p>\n

Who Shall Unite Us?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was a warm summer. It was the year the Queen was in Belfast as part of her Jubilee celebrations. Man United where beating Liverpool in the FA Cup Final. \u00a0The Peace People were up and running. But I was in the Crum. It was packed and gone were the segregated wings. C wing was loyalist in 1974 when I was there for a sleepover.\u00a0 The Crum was mad at the best of times but this was an eventful year.\u00a0 The place was packed due to Paisleys failed strike. The Shankill butchers were in.\u00a0 And Lenny M was coming down from the Maze. We were packed 3 and 4 to a cell. \u00a0The heat made for long days. There was a massive search of the prison for explosives.\u00a0 There had been an explosion in one cell.<\/p>\n

The routine was day in day out. What that meant was with republicans we alternated the 3 periods of getting out. One day we were out 3 times,\u00a0 the next day we were locked up all day in the cells while they got out.\u00a0 But news would come in from the outside.\u00a0 We had heard of the deaths of two loyalists. It was decided to hold a joint event for both.Tommy- \u2018Da\u2019 -Mawhinney was a serving UVF prisoner in the Kesh compounds. He was from the Woodvale.\u00a0 Tommy was an extremely popular person, both inside and outside the jail and the nickname was testimony to this.\u00a0 Being one of the older generation, he was someone many of the young volunteers looked up to. \u00a0It was a simple heart attack and he was dead.\u00a0 On the outside a UDA volunteer from Monkstown, William Hobbs, died from burns after a bomb \u00a0exploded prematurely.
\nIt was the afternoon session and we all trooped out to the \u2018C\u2019\u00a0 wing yard. The sun struggled to find its way into the yard but it was warm.\u00a0 We started walking round in the usual way. Suddenly an order was barked out and we all went into the centre of the yard. \u2018Line up in threes\u2019.\u00a0 Many of us had experience of marching. There were over 300 of us and we filled the yard.\u00a0 When you get the order heads will bowed for 1 minute. QUIET! Suddenly the yard was very quiet. We knew that the Provos on the north side of C wing could watch. Some prisoners from A wing at our backs were also watching.\u00a0 Our heads were bowed to remember our dead. From the screws box I could hear them talking. They were reading out all the names of the men taking part \u2018in an illegal parade\u2019. We didn\u2019t care.\u00a0 We would all be punished. We were all remand but under Diplock we were guilty under proved innocent. It was long minute. UDA standing side by side with UVF and Red Hand.\u00a0 In fairness to the Provos and ODCs they didn\u2019t cat call or show disrespect. With head bowed I studied the ground beneath my feet.\u00a0 I heard the cooing pigeons on the roof and then the chatter of a starling.<\/p>\n

\u2018Heads up.\u00a0 Dismiss\u2019.
\nAnd suddenly we went back to our normal routine. Walking and talking.\u00a0 It was a change to a boring routine. A remembrance of the troubles outside and what the cost was to ordinary people. This was a show of solidarity. \u00a0It\u2019s now 37 years ago.\u00a0 Remember them also next week .\u00a0\u00a0 Remember when loyalists stood together.<\/p>\n

Cicero.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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