A GROUP of Beechmount republicans are raising funds to erect a new mural to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1981 hunger strike.
 
The Beechmount '81 Hunger Strike Committee hope to raise £1,000 for a new mural to be sited at the bottom of Amcomri Street.
 
On the 25th anniversary of the hunger strike, several group members had taken part in commemorative youth project where they created mosaic portraits of the ten hunger strikers who gave their lives in the H-Blocks.
 
While the mosaics are no longer in nearby Clowney Street due to exposure to the elements, committee member Sean Doherty said it was time to give the hunger strikers their place in Beechmount once again.
 
“There has always been a hunger strike mural in Beechmount and the past couple of years there has been nothing,” he said. “We can’t forget what the ten men did. It was a brave thing for them to do.”

There has always been a hunger strike mural in Beechmount and the past couple of years there has been nothing,” he said. “We can’t forget what the ten men did. It was a brave thing for them to do.”

Fellow committee member David Fraser added: “We wanted to do something now that the whole community can get involved in, not just an individual group.
 
“We thought it would be good if everybody could come together and get a new mural up.”

He said the mural would offer an opportunity for the community to reconnect with their history.
 
“I think a lot of people are starting to maybe not forget what happened in the past , but try to move on too much from the past,” explained David.
 
“During the second day of Bobby Sands’ diary he’s talking about James Connolly, and people could say James Connolly was in the past for him – it doesn’t really work like that. I think it’s a way for the people of Beechmount to re-learn their history or make more of a place for their history.
 
“It would be good when the Coronavirus passes on to have a yearly history event for the community, rather than it being just a mural on the wall. We want it to become part of the culture again.”
 
To raise the necessary funds, the 81 Committee plans to raffle off a number of prizes including a ‘rebel hamper’ featuring albums donated by some of the world’s biggest rebel singers.
 
Sean said he hopes that the “whole community” can get involved, adding that the project is “open to everyone".