Remembering Friends | Solidarity with Palestine | Health in a New Ireland | Passport office for the north

Philomena MulvennaPhilomena Mulvenna died in the early hours of last Friday morning. I have known Philomena and her husband Paddy for most of my adult life. Paddy and she were 72 years married and they had 7 children. Mrs Mulvenna protested with other women against military occupation and for decades on behalf of the political prisoners especially the Armagh women and the blanket men. The song sings unfairly, of the boys of Ballymurphy but all of us know that without the women of Ballymurphy, the struggle would have not succeeded as it has in this Republican heartland. Like working class Republican women throughout the North, these mothers and grandmothers, sisters and wives were unbreakable, indomitable and resilient.Brendan MurphyI was deeply saddened to hear of the death of Brendan. I had the pleasure of knowing him for decades, although I haven’t seen him in ages.Martin CollinsMartin Collins would not have been well known on this side of the Irish Sea. But in London he was central to many of the Irish organisations and campaigns, as well as the solidarity movements like Troops Out. Martin campaigned for decades against British injustice in Ireland. It was through this work that I often met him in London.Solidarity with the Palestinian PeopleTo mark International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People there will be an event in Ionad Eileen Howell/St. Comgall’s in Belfast on 29 November at 11am. This will involve a conversation between myself and Seanadoir Chris Andrews who recently participated in the Global Freedom Flotilla to Gaza.A Passport office for the NorthThe consistent refusal by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to establish a passport office in the North flies in the face of the very clear demand for such a service. Year after year the numbers of people in the North applying for an Irish passport has grown substantially. Last year over 128,000 people living in the six counties applied for an Irish passport.