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DESI REYNOLDS WAS A GIANT OF A MAN IN MANY WAYS.HE WAS BIG IN STATURE,BOTH PHYSICALLY
AND MENTALLY AND COULD PACK APUNCH AS MANY A MAN WHO ANNOYED HIM FOUND OUT TO THEIR COST.
THOSE ON THE RECEIVING END INCLUDED
FAMOUS R.U.C CRETIN LURCH WHO DESI CHINNED AT BIG FINBARR'S FUNERAL IN 1975,WHEN HE TOOK ON ALL CONTENDERS AND LEFT THEM ON
THE CANVAS.
HE WAS ALSO A MAN WITH A BIG HEART WHO DISPLAYED A GREAT LOVE FOR THE CLONARD AREA AND IT'S PEOPLE BOTH
YOUNG AND OLD ALIKE.IN TURN HIS COMMUNITY LOVED AND RESPECTED HIM,IN RECOGITION OF EVERYTHING HE HAD DONE FOR THEM OVER THE
YEARS.
THE YOUTH OF THE AREA RECOGNISED AND ACKNOWLEDGED ALL HE HAD DONE FOR THEM,BY WAY OF HIS DEEP INVOLVEMENT IN GAELIC
SPORTS,ESPECIALLY GAELIC FOOTBALL.HE WAS TO EITHER PLAY IN OR COACH NUMEROUS SIDES INCLUDING THE O'NEILL-CRAWLIES,ST ENDA'S,McDERMOTT'S
AND THE ANTRIM MINOR TEAM.HE LIKE MANY REPUBLICANS HAD RECOGNISED THE IMPORTANCEOF PROMOTING AND ORGANISING GAELIC SPORTS
AND CULTURE AS AN ASPECT OF OUR STRUGGLE AS LEGITIMATE AND IMPORTANT AS ANY HE HAD ENGAGED IN THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE.
HOWEVER
MOST OF US GATHERED HERE TODAY,WILL REMEMBER DESY FOR THE BIG ROLE HE PLAYED IN THE DEFENCE OF HIS COMMUNITY IN AUGUST 69,MAYO
ST 1970,FALLS CURFEW 1970 AND INTERMENT WEEK 1971.
HIS COURAGE AND COMMITMENT WAS AN INSPIRATION TO THE MANY YOUNG VOLS.
WHO WERE COMING THROUGH C COMPANY'S RANKS DURING THIS VOLATILE PERIOD.THEIR NAIVETY AND INEXPERIENCE FOUND A FOCUS IN BIG
DESI AND RESPONDED BY SHOWING THEM THE WAY.HE WAS AN INSPIRATIONAL AND CHARASMATIC LEADER WHO MANAGED TO GET THE BEST OUT
OF HIS YOUNGER COMRADES,DEVELOPING THEIR CONFIDENCE AND MILITARY COMPETENCE.
WE ALSO REMEMBER HIM FOR ALL THE WORK
HE DONE IN RE-ORGANISING AND TRAINING C COMPANY IN THE CHAOTIC DAYS FOLLOWING THE POGROMS OF 69,HELPING TO TRANSFORM A LOCAL
DEFENCE FORCE INTO AN ARMY CONFIDENT AND CAPABLE OF ENGAGING THE ENEMY IN AN OFFENSIVE MODE.
ALL THIS WORK CAME WITH
A HEAVY PERSONAL COST TO DESY AND HIS FAMILY AS HE WAS FORCED TO GO ON THE RUN FROM ENEMY FORCES.
IT WAS DURING THIS PERIOD
THAT HE WENT ON ACTIVE SERVICE THROUGHOUT THE 6-COUNTIES AND ALONG THE BORDER AS OGLAIGH NA h-EIREANN WENT ON THE OFFENSIVE
AGAINST BRITISH COERCION AND UNIONIST DOMINATION.DURING THIS PERIOD HE MADE MANY FRIENDS AMONGST THE REPUBLICAN FRATERNITY
THROUGHOUT THE 32-COUNTIES,SOME OF WHOM ARE IN ATTENDENCE HERE TODAY.
UPON HIS RETURN TO BELFAST,ENEMY FORCES EAGERLY
SOUGHT HIS CAPTURE,MANY OF THE YOUNG RECRUITS HE HAD TRAINED WERE NOW EXPERIENCED OPERATIONAL VOLS. AND THEY COMBINED TO FORM
AN EFFECTIVE FIGHTING FORCE.
EVENTUALLY HOWEVER HIS LUCK RAN OUT AND HE WAS ARRESTED AT HIS FATHER-IN-LAWS HOME IN
BENARES STREET AND TAKEN TO THE TORTURE COMPOUND IN PALACE BARRACKS HOLLYWOOD.HERE THE INFAMOUS 1st BATT.PARAS WERE BASED,"THE
AUTHOR OF BLOODY SUNDAY"
HE WAS BRUTALISED AND TORTURED FOR THE FULL 48 HOURS,AS WAS THE NORM THEN.
HE WAS THEN
TO EXPERIENCE IMPRISONMENT AS AN INTERNEE ON THE PRISON SHIP THE MAIDSTONE;ALONGSIDE OTHER REPUBLICANS FROM THE CLONARD AREA.DESI'S
INSPIRATIONAL AND ORGANISATIONAL TALENTS WERE ONCE MORE CALLED UPON AS HE HELPED DEVELOP EFFECTIVE OGLAIGH STRUCTURES.CONDITIONS
WERE CRAMED AND INSANITARY AND THE DECISION WAS TAKEN TO MOUNT A CAMPAIGN FOR THE CLOSURE OF THE MAIDSTONE.OUR MEANS WAS A
MASS PARTIAL HUNGER STRIKE,IN OUR DEMAND FOR A TRANSFER TO THE RELATIVELY BETTER CONDITIONS EXPERIENCED BY OUR COMRADES IN
THE KESH.
I CAN WELL REMEMBER GOING UP THE GANGPLANK ON THE MAIDSTONE FOR THE FIRST TIME,ONE OF THE FIRST INTERNEES
I MET WAS BIG DESI AND IT WAS GREAT TO SEE A FRIENDLY FAMILIAR FACE AFTER TWO DAYS IN PALACE BARRACKS.BUT MY JOY SOON TURNED
TO DISMAY AS DESI INFORMED ME ABOUT HIS INTENTION TO GO ON HUNGER STRIKE "FAIR PLAY TO YOU" SAYS I, "FAIR PLAY TO YOU TOO"SAYS
HE AS HE INFORMED ME OF THE MASS PROTEST INVOLVING ALL PRISONERS!
WE THEN WENT TO CAGE 9 TOGETHER,IRONICALLY FLYING
OVER THE CLONARD AREA AS WE WERE TRANSFERRED TO THE CAGES BY HELICOPTER.
A COUPLE OF MONTHS LATER WE WERE ON THE MOVE
AGAIN,THIS TIME TO CAGE 3 TO JOIN GINTY,KEVIN AND LIAM HANNAWAY AND DESI'S BROTHER DERMY.
WE EVENTUALLY ENDED UP IN
CAGE 2 WHERE MOST OF THE CLONARD MEN WERE HELD,AS ILLUSTRATED IN ONE OF THE PHOTOS ON DISPLAY IN LAST WEEKS EXHIBITION IN
CLONARD HALL,WITH DESI,MYSELF,COLM AND EAMON MEEHAN,SHINER MOONEY,JOEL,BIG SENIOR,DOE,HUCKER AND MOKE RESIDING THERE.
WE
ALL HAVE OUR OWN SPECIAL MEMORIES OF DESI,SOME OF WHICH WE LIKE TO SHARE BUT OTHERS WE MAY PREFER TO KEEP TO OURSELVES.
I
CAN CLEARLY RECALL THIS TIME LAST YEAR WHEN THE LOCAL COMMEMORATION COMMITTEE ORGANISED A PARADE AND A PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITIONTO
HONOUR THE MEMORY OF FIAN GERARD McAULEY'S 30TH ANNIVERSARY AND THE BURNING OF BOMBAY STREET,KASHMIR ROAD AND CLONARD GARDENS.THE
EXHIBITION REPRESENTED THE REPUBLICAN HISTORY OF CLONARD FROM 1920 UNTIL THE PRESENT DAY. AND TODAY WE GATHER TO MOURN THE
LOSS OF,WHILE CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF A MAN WHO MADE A MASSIVE CONTRIBUTION TO THAT HISTORY.
TO ROUND OF THE EXHIBITION
WE HAD DESI AND SCOBIE OUTLINE THEIR MEMORIES OF AUGUST 69.HERE WE WITNESSED BOTH THE SERIOUS AND THE WITTY SIDE OF DESI AS
HE RELIVED HIS MEMORIES OF AUGUST 15TH,TELLING OF HOW HE LEFT MAC AIRT'S HOUSE BEFORE IT WAS RAIDED BY THE R.U.C IN AN EFFORT
TO REMOVE ANY MEANS OF DEFENCE, BY ARRESTING MAC AIRT AND MALACHY McGURRAN AND CONFISCATING WHAT LITTLE WEAPONRY THEY HAD.THEN
AS SCOBIE BEGAN TO RECALL HIS MEMORIES,DESI WAS ENJOYING THE CRACK REMARKING THAT SCOBIE WASN'T SHY ABOUT INCLUDING A FEW
PORKIES TO ENBELLISH HIS STORIES' AND WE CAN ALL CONCUR WITH THAT
I KNOW I SPEAK FOR EVERYONE HERE TODAY WHEN I SAY
THAT WE WILL CHERISH ALL OUR MEMORIES OF THE BIG LAD ,WHETHER THEY ARE FUNNY,SERIOUS OR SAD.
WE HAVE LOST A COMMITTED
COMRADE AND A GOOD FRIEND,WHO FACED THE PROSPECT OF CERTAIN DEATH WITH THE SAME COURAGE AND DIGNITY THAT HE DISPLAYED IN LIFE.
TO HIS WIFE RITA,DAUGTHERS DEBBIE AND BRONAGH,SON DESMOND,HIS GRANDCHILDREN MARTIN AND CHRISTOPHER,HIS FAMILY CIRCLE
AND HIS MANY FRIENDS AND COMRADES WE EXTEND OUR HEARTFELT SYMPATHY.
YOUR LOSS IS OUR LOSS
SO DESI REST PEACEFULLY
YOUR DYING WISH TO RECEIVE A REPUBLICAN SEND-OFF HAS BEEN FULFILLED.
FAREWELL COMRADE
SLAN GO FOILL.
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