Witness Trees

WITNESS TREES.I used to have an old hard backed copy of Nora Connolly O’Brien’s; ‘Portrait Of A Rebel Father’. This wonderful account of James Connolly’s life, as recalled by his daughter, is a must read for followers of the great man. I foolishly lent my copy to a comrade and that is the last I saw of it. But that’s another story...In my copy of ‘Portrait Of A Rebel Father’ there is a photo of some of the Connolly children outside their family home at Nos 1 Glenalina Terrace opposite the City Cemetery on the Falls Road...Beside them is a tree that was planted in 1903. It was one of many planted along that stretch of road. The tree outside the family home is now gone but most of the rest are still there...These trees would have seen James Connolly and his wife Lillie and their six children taking up residence in Glenalina Terrace...They have been observers of many events in their lifetimes. From the Rising to Partition to the Hungerstrikes, to the Good Friday Agreement and all the thousands of marches and rallies and demos and funerals and shootings and explosions and Féile An Phobail carnivals. All the good, sad, angry, happy, proud, confusing events of their time. That’s what Witness Trees do. They stand witness and provide connections to times outside of our mere human lifespan.