 |
| Digger McCrory |
I don't think the entire time I was there he was ever referred to by his first name, Emmanuel. When he came on the blanket protest in the autumn of 1979, he had just been handed down a life sentence for the killing of a British soldier.
From Turf Lodge, which had seen much British state violence over the previous two decades, Digger was not for accepting the legitimacy of either British rule or British behaviour. By joining the blanket protest he was making a statement that Ireland did not have an aggravated crime wave but very much did have a British problem.
At the time, the blanket protest was not a place for the faint hearted. Prison staff violence had been ramped up before tapering off at the beginning of 1980 to coincide with the talks between Cardinal O'Fiach and the British government. When two of my former classmates from St Augustine's were gunned down in the Short Strand in November 1979, Paul McCrory and Marius O'Neill, the screws mistakenly thought that Paul was Digger's brother. I still recall the gleeful, gloating Scottish accent reverberating throughout the wing as it proclaimed joy that his friends had, as he believed, taken out a blanket man's brother. There was a sibling of the slain man in the jail but he was serving a life sentence in the cages. That piece of detail had become garbled in the filtering process before reaching the ears of the protest block screws, prompting the venom to spew from their mouths.
Digger at the time was in the cell with the late Harry McKavanagh. They had both arrived on the same day. To the delight of their fellow blanketmen, each of them had a fine singing voice. Digger will always be fondly remembered for his rendition of Gerry Rafferty's Baker Street including the saxophone riff. When he first sang it there was not a sound to be heard on the wing, until the end when each cell erupted with applause. It was probably the most requested song on our wing throughout the blanket protest.
When the protest ended the blanketmen were dispersed thoughout the prison system. It was the luck of the draw after that whether we would meet again. Some of us would end up in the same wing frequently. Others never set eyes on each other until after release, if at all. I met Digger on a few wings as we journeyed through and around the Blocks. The dark winter nights of 1988 when we were denied access to the exercise yard stand out for the long intense conversations he, I and Sleepy Devine would have to while away the hours.
On the night he died he was remembered by blanketmen as far afield as Santa Ponsa where Alex McCrory, on holiday, requested that a song be played in the bar - "I'll wear no convict's uniform." Fitting for a man who told the world the only criminals in the H Block protest wings were those wearing prison uniform and were members of the Northern Ireland Prison Service.
For many, Alex probably summed Digger up best:
When the 'wee man' was buried, many former comrades and blanket men turned up to give him the send off he deserved. Padraic MacCoitir detailed the type of gathering it was, where the main speaker was another former blanketman, Tomboy Loudon.
At the time, the blanket protest was not a place for the faint hearted. Prison staff violence had been ramped up before tapering off at the beginning of 1980 to coincide with the talks between Cardinal O'Fiach and the British government. When two of my former classmates from St Augustine's were gunned down in the Short Strand in November 1979, Paul McCrory and Marius O'Neill, the screws mistakenly thought that Paul was Digger's brother. I still recall the gleeful, gloating Scottish accent reverberating throughout the wing as it proclaimed joy that his friends had, as he believed, taken out a blanket man's brother. There was a sibling of the slain man in the jail but he was serving a life sentence in the cages. That piece of detail had become garbled in the filtering process before reaching the ears of the protest block screws, prompting the venom to spew from their mouths.
Digger at the time was in the cell with the late Harry McKavanagh. They had both arrived on the same day. To the delight of their fellow blanketmen, each of them had a fine singing voice. Digger will always be fondly remembered for his rendition of Gerry Rafferty's Baker Street including the saxophone riff. When he first sang it there was not a sound to be heard on the wing, until the end when each cell erupted with applause. It was probably the most requested song on our wing throughout the blanket protest.
When the protest ended the blanketmen were dispersed thoughout the prison system. It was the luck of the draw after that whether we would meet again. Some of us would end up in the same wing frequently. Others never set eyes on each other until after release, if at all. I met Digger on a few wings as we journeyed through and around the Blocks. The dark winter nights of 1988 when we were denied access to the exercise yard stand out for the long intense conversations he, I and Sleepy Devine would have to while away the hours.
On the night he died he was remembered by blanketmen as far afield as Santa Ponsa where Alex McCrory, on holiday, requested that a song be played in the bar - "I'll wear no convict's uniform." Fitting for a man who told the world the only criminals in the H Block protest wings were those wearing prison uniform and were members of the Northern Ireland Prison Service.
For many, Alex probably summed Digger up best:
I considered Digger as a friend and comrade over many years. He was salt of the earth and totally devoid of airs and graces. A simple man with simple tastes. He enjoyed a pint and a punt in his local club, Trinity Lodge, where he was part of furniture. His physicality was felt in any company. Though friendly and funny, he brooked no nonsense from anyone regardless of size or reputation. Straight as a die was Digger.
Winding your way down on Baker Street
Light in your head and dead on your feet
Well, another crazy day
You'll drink the night away
And forget about ev'rything
The Belfast city desert city is much colder this Christmas, without Digger gracing its streets.
 |
| ⏩Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre. |
No comments