THE late Kevin Keegan was a visitor to Andersonstown Leisure Centre in 1981 amid a H-Block demonstration taking place at the same time.
The legendary striker, who famously starred for Liverpool and Newcastle United, passed away aged 75 on Monday.
In 1981, Kevin, then playing for Southampton, was a special guest at a Superkids event at Andersonstown Leisure Centre. He was accompanied by his club manager Laurie McMenemy.
While the the two big football names were there meeting and signing autographs for local children, a prison demo was taking place on the premises.
In the Andersonstown News of June 20, 1981, we reported that the demo had been organised by the local Andersonstown Hunger Strike Committee who believed that the visit of the stars was an attempt to bring a bogus normality to the city.
Around 50 demonstrators picketed the leisure centre following a meeting between the Hunger Strike Committee and Keegan and McMenemy.
"The deputation explained that the effect of the visit was to portray a situation of normality in Belfast, when in fact prisoners on hunger strike in the H-Block and their supporters in areas such as Andersonstown were being murdered by their government," the article read.
"It was pointed out to them that many people in the community saw them as agents of Maggie Thatcher, visiting Andersonstown in an attempt to whitewash and conceal the truth of British policies in Ireland.
"When asked by the deputation if they were aware that two young girls in the area had been killed by plastic bullets, that young people in the area were continually subjected to arrest and harassment, and many were now in prison because they had been tortured in interrogation centres, both said they were not.
"When asked, they both declined to condemn this or condemn as sportsmen the decades of discrimination against Irish sport and culture which had denied these same youth proper or adequate sporting facilities.
"Following the deputation's meeting, between 40 and 50 people picketed the leisure centre to counteract the anti-Irish propaganda the visit was attempting to create.
"The protest did not interfere with the visitors' movement in our out of the centre and the event passed off peacefully."
