Just something that I found on the net., I liked it, very thought provoking.
A thought for anybody who is grieving the death of somebody that they have loved......

And God Said

I said, "God, I hurt."
And God said, "I know".

I said, "God, I cry a lot."
And God said, "That is why I gave you tears."

I said, "God, I am so depressed."
And God said, "That is why I gave you Sunshine."

I said, "God, life is so hard."
And God said, "That is why I gave you loved ones."

I said, "God, my loved one died."
And God said, "So did mine."

I said, "God, it is such a loss."
And God said, "I saw mine nailed to a cross."

I said, "God, but your loved one lives."
And God said, "So does yours."

I said, "God, where is she now?"
And God said, "Mine is on My right and yours is in the Light."

I said, "God it hurts."
And God said, "I know..........." 

Death of a Journalist

Holy Thursday night 18 April 2019, the night before Good Friday and 21 years after the famous agreement on another Good Friday. 29 year old, Lyra McKee, a highly respected investigative journalist, an award winning author, and a LGBT activist was covering a riot and disturbances in the Creggan area of Derry city. The disturbances were triggered when the PSNI, believing the “freedom fighters “ of the “New IRA” were planning attacks in Derry over the Easter weekend, no doubt, their way of honouring the memory of the 1916 Rising. A riot broke out, petrol bombs pelted at the police, cars set on fire, just like the bad old days of the Troubles.
At 11pm, a “brave and courageous freedom fighter” from the noble “New IRA” fired at least 10 shots into the crowd of police and civilians. A bullet hit Lyra, and despite the efforts of the PSNI, she died shortly at Altnagelvin hospital.

We thought we were finished with this sort of tragedy. The war was supposed to be over.
How the hell was shooting into a crowd, burning cars, going to free Ireland.
Saoradh, the republican political party, blamed “British Crown Forces “ for the riot. In its statement, Saoradh announced to us, that, as a “mark of respect” their annual Easter Monday Commemoration was to be cancelled.
So, what was it all about? Why did Lyra, a much loved, highly thought of woman have to die?

If Lyra’s death proves anything, it is that the Peace Process is a fragile thing, that there are those in this country, Real/New/Continuity IRA &  Loyalist armed groups, who wouldn’t mind one bit if the war broke out again. As the Brexit shenanigans have shown, the Brexiteers, the Tories in Britain wouldn’t mind one bit, sacrificing the Good Friday Agreement, as long as the  “will of the people” is upheld, and Britain leaves the tyrannical EU.
What about the people’s will who voted North & South for peace.

Maybe, this weekend, the politicians in the DUP and the Tory party, will reflect on the killing of Lyra McKee. They might just realise that the hard border issue, isn’t just politics. It’s a-lot more serious than that. The Good Friday Agreement is delicate, there are people ready to pounce on any reason to wreck the peace, to go back to how things  were.
Stop the play acting and the antics we see in Westminster too often  on the news bulletins, and get a deal sorted, tell the people not what they’re against but what they actually want.
Northern Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement are more important than any civil war in the Tory party. It’s time for Michelle O’Neill and Arlene Foster to show leadership, stop the squabbling and give the North, a government. A united front fighting the cause of the North in these uncertain times.

It’s a matter of life and death.

Hillsborough

Last Monday was the 30th anniversary of the terrible day at Hillsborough, Sheffield when 94 Liverpool supporters at the FA Cup Semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest,were crushed to death at the Leppings Lane end of the ground. On the 19 April the death toll reached 95 when a 14 year old lad, Lee Nicol died in hospital when his life support was switched off. The 96th victim was 22 year old Tony Bland, who had been in a persistent vegetative state for nearly four years, Tony showed no signs of recovery and his hydration and artificial feeding were withdrawn. Stephen Whittle is considered by many as the 97th victim of Hillborough. He had sold his ticket for the match to a friend, as he wasn’t able to go due to work commitments. His friend was one of the those who died that day, Stephen was wracked by survivor’s guilt over the death of his friend and committed suicide in February 2011.

I was 14 years old that day, an avid Liverpool fan, loved the Irish players on the team, Whelan, Houghton and Aldridge. Barnes, Rush and Dalglish were also my heroes.
We lived in two channel land so there wasn’t much live football from England on telly, but that Saturday, RTÉ were showing the match live on Sports Stadium. I remember it so well, it kicked off at 3pm. There didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary. After 5 mins, Liverpool’s Peter Beardsley, unleashed a shot which hit the Forest crossbar. Fan’s behind the goal began pleading with Liverpool k keeper Bruce Grobbelaar for help as the crush got worse. At 3.06 pm the ref stopped the game, the players went back to the dressing rooms, fans broke through gates to try to escape the crush. Fans in the stand above the terrace were pulling people up to safety. The crush was so tight that fans died standing up, crush barriers were bent and broken. Fans carried their fellow fans in makeshift stretchers onto the pitch, trying to perform CPR.  It was terrible.
Throughout the following days and weeks, the TV news was all about the Liverpool stadium, Anfield, how the club opened the ground on the Sunday to allow the people to honour those who died. Scenes of of the thousands visiting the stadium and the pitch covered with flowers, scarves and tributes.

Most people now know how the Liverpool supporters were blamed for the tragedy, they were accused of hooliganism, drunkenness trying to enter the stadium without tickets. The Sun newspaper, carried the story of how they pick-pocketed the dead and dying, urinating on them, obstructing attempts to help the injured. They were portrayed as scum, the lowest of the low.
After 27 years of inquiries, reports, investigations and two coroner’s hearings, on 26 April 2016, the jury in the second coroner’s inquest returned a verdict of unlawful killing in respect of the 96 people who died. After a long hard struggle, the families got justice. The fans weren’t responsible for the tragedy, a mixture of  “errors or omissions” by police commanders, Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, the ambulance and  the design and certification of the Hillsborough stadium had all “caused or contributed” to the deaths. The behaviour of the Liverpool supporters had not.

A terrible miscarriage of justice had been righted.

Justice For The 96 - JFT96