Stand Up | Terry O'Sullivan | Michelle Gildernew GFA25

Standing up for rightsAmong those who attended the Easter Sunday commemoration in Belfast two weeks ago was John Montgomery. I haven’t seen John in many years and it was a delight to meet him again. John is originally from St. James’ in west Belfast.Thirty years ago John was the Chairperson of the Ballyfermot Community Association. Those were different times. Political censorship and the demonisation of Republicans was entrenched in government policy North and South. Collusion between British state agencies and their unionist paramilitary surrogates was widespread.  The Irish and British governments were locked into a strategy aimed at defeating the IRA and smashing Sinn Féin.Terry O’Sullivan – A working class heroTerry O'Sullivan is the General President of the Laborers' International Union of North American (LIUNA). He has just retired after a quarter of century as leader of one of the biggest trade unions in North America. I have known Terry O for many years. He is a proud Irish American born in San Francisco and with close ties to Kerry where his paternal grandfather was from. He still has family there. Michelle Gildernew: My memories of the Good Friday AgreementMy memories of the Good Friday Agreement are interspersed with countless trips across the Irish Sea. I was the Sinn Féin representative in London and on the day the Agreement was reached I was in London, where Jimmy and I were staying with Mary Mason, a brilliant London based activist.