REPUBLICANS from across Belfast turned out to mark the 50th anniversary of the death on active service of IRA Volunteers John 'Bap' Kelly and John Stone.
John Stone and John 'Bap' Kelly died when a bomb they were transporting exploded prematurely on 21 January 1975.
Volunteers John 'Bap' Kelly and John Stone
Both John and Bap shared similar backgrounds and experiences. Their families both came from North Belfast. John's from Sailortown and Bap's from nearby Moffatt Street.
They both moved to West Belfast, John's family to his beloved Ballymurphy and Bap's to Leeson Street in the Falls area. They both experienced imprisonment during the conflict, with Bap being arrested during the Falls Curfew in July 1970 on arms charges and was sentenced to five years. John was interned in February 1972 in Cage 2 and released in September 1974.
At a commemoration held at the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery on Sunday, Seán Murray said: "Both men were committed, experienced and fearless volunteers.
Seán Murray
"We all have our memories of association with John and Bap over the years.
"John was the joker in the squad always on the go with something with a constant smile on his face.
"Bap was an affable comrade with a big heart. He had a great talent as an entertainer and sang at many of the local clubs. He wrote and recorded the famous rebel song 'Say Hello to the Provos' which was so successful that he was invited to the USA where he recorded an LP of the same name.
"In commemorating the two volunteers today, it is important to paint the context surrounding events at the time of their deaths. 1974 was a very difficult year for the republican struggle. Many comrades were interned and sentenced, depleting the ranks of Óglaigh na hÉireann, thereby reducing its operational capacity.
"This was also a period of background engagement between the Republican Movement and representatives of the British Government, leading to an extended Christmas ceasefire. Operations resumed in January but a prolonged ceasefire came into effect on the 10th February 1975, just over two weeks after John and Bap were killed.
"Their sacrifice and that of all of our patriot dead has laid the foundations for where our struggle for national self-determination and an end to partition rests today.
"The best gift that our generation of republicans can bestow for the current and future generations is that to achieve national democratic objectives they no longer have to sacrifice their lives and liberty to achieve republican objectives. Today the youth of Ireland are living for Ireland!
"Thankfully, the conflict has ended and for the first time in our history a peaceful pathway to Irish reunification now exists.
"However, the revolutionary spirit which motivated Bap and John and each of the 364 volunteers on the republican roll of honour continues to motivate republicans in an era of struggle today.
"We have embarked North and South on a decade of opportunities for republicans.
"The best way to commemorate and honour the sacrifice of our patriot dead, like John and Bap is to play our part, no matter how small, as activists in today's republican struggle.
"We owe it to Bap and John who gave their very lives for the republican cause."
