A COMMEMORATION was held in the New Lodge on Saturday evening to remember two people killed in loyalist attack on a local bar 50 years ago.
Sadie (46) was married with five children and was from Hillman Street. James (43) was married with ten children and was from Upper Meadow Street.
On Saturday evening, the New Lodge community came together to remember both victims, with a plaque unveiled at the junction of Donore Court and New Lodge Road.
Speaking at the commemoration, North Belfast Sinn Féin MLA Carál Ní Chuilín described the Sheridan Bar attack as part of a "loyalist onslaught on a small community".
"50 years ago, on 17th January 1976, while local residents spent a typical Saturday night at the local Sheridan Bar, just off the New Lodge Road, a British sponsored and controlled loyalist murder gang, without warning, threw a bomb into the bar among innocent regulars," she explained.
"Many were seriously injured, but two were fatally injured. Father-of-ten James Reid aged 43 and mother-of-five Sarah O’Dwyer, better known as Sadie, aged 46, who sat together in conversation, died as the no-warning bomb exploded.
"This bomb attack was among many attacks in this small community of the New Lodge, including the fatalities of the Spa Inn, the Starry Plough, McLaughlin’s Bar and the most fatal of them all, in McGurk’s Bar.
"The loyalist onslaught on this small community was a concentrated and sustained campaign to terrorise the people of the area into submission and behind these sectarian attacks was a British policy of mass intimidation and terrorism.
"120 names of local residents, who died as a consequence of British occupation are remembered in the memorial garden not far from where we gather. We often forget the enduring pain and loss the family members of those whose names are inscribed on the memorial plaque, still endure.
"The Reid and O’Dwyer families represent the survival nature of a community who endured the very brunt of British occupation and brutality, a close-knit community who continue to support those bereaved by British murder gangs. A community who stood in defiance of British/Loyalist collusion and terror.
"The Reid and O’Dwyer families also exemplify and embody the strength and determination of a community who installed the spirit of solidarity in Irish nationalist working class communities. The New Lodge Road community was at the forefront of British army and loyalist attacks; and took the onslaught of a violent regime, standing firm in resistance and defiance, with great prided resilience.
"Following the burials of Sadie O’Dwyer and James Reid, the pure courage and love of both families in the midst of painful grief and loss for two wonderful parents was evident to all. A tragedy too many families throughout the occupied six counties have experienced.
"As we gather tonight to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the loss of Sadie and James, we also remember a much-loved mother and father and the ever enduring heartbreak of two families united in their memory of their parents and the quest for justice and truth.
"The legacy of British collusion with loyalist murder gangs has often been ignored by the state but tonight we resolve to never forget the injustices of these murders within our community and acknowledge, the loving bond between the O’Dwyer and Reid families."
