West Belfast assesses Gerry Fitt's legacy
Former friends and political foes of the late Gerry Fitt were yesterday (Sunday) assessing the legacy of the 79-year-old former West Belfast MP who died on Friday.
The first SDLP MP for West Belfast died in London, and with his passing attracted tributes and criticism from across the political spectrum – no more so than in the constituency where he was MP.
A founding member of the SDLP in 1970, he became the party's first leader, but he fell out of favour with the fledgling party in 1979, after he accused colleagues of abandoning their socialist principles and going "too green".
Gerry Fitt was a man of contradictions
After he lost his West Belfast seat to Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams in 1983 – in the aftermath of the hunger strikes, which he vehementally opposed – he then took up a life peerage and sat in the British House of Lords.
But friend and former West Belfast MP Joe Hendron yesterday paid tribute to Lord Fitt.
"My own feeling was that he was an outstanding representative especially in the early years," he said.
"He was elected to West Belfast as an MP in 1966 and he was the first real voice for nationalists in West Belfast. Not since Joe Devlin in the 1920s had there been such a voice."
Dr Hendron said Gerry Fitt would remain an iconic image across the world after he was assaulted by the RUC as a civil rights activist in the 1960s. But he also met with the fury of republicans after he opposed the hunger strike and was an outspoken critic of armed struggle.
But yesterday Gerry Adams, current MP for West Belfast expressed his sympathy for the family of Lord Fitt.
"The differences between Gerry Fitt and republicans were many and profound. But this is not the time to revisit these.
"I wish to express my sympathy to the extended Fitt family following the news of the death of Gerry Fitt."
Danny Morrison who acted on behalf of republican prisoners at the time of the 1981 hunger strike said Lord Fitt had taken Margaret Thatcher's stance against the hunger strikers.
"He was pro-British and was guilty of hypocrisy. There has been a lot of revisionism on him recently but he was on Thatcher's side during the time 10 men died in the H-Blocks. He was a cheerleader for the British and he deserted his roots. He took the queen's shilling," he said.
But Joe Hendron said Gerry Fitt's controversial decision to join the House of Lords was his way of staying in the political arena.
Lord Fitt and his late wife Anne lived in London after his home was attacked in north Belfast in the 1970s. Fitt faced down a crowd that had gathered on the Antrim Road in the face of his bitter criticisms of violence.
He later quit the SDLP in 1979.
"He worked very hard for the people at a time when the old Stormont was alive and discrimination against Catholics was so rampant," said Dr Hendron.
"He was a founding giant of the civil rights movement. He had been lonely since the death of Anne. He was put out of his home and he felt this very hurtful and deeply personal."
And last night current Sinn Féin leader on Lisburn City Council, Paul Butler, who was a PoW in the H-Blocks at the time of the hunger strike when ten republicans died, said Gerry Fitt was a man of contradictions. He recalled that although Gerry Fitt opposed armed struggle he helped unveil a plaque to socialist James Connolly at the former Easter Rising leader's home on the Falls Road. Fitt then became a member of the House of Lords.
Passing on his condolences to his family the Lisburn councillor said: "He was no friend of republicanism and I think his opposition to the hunger strikers led to his political demise.
"His legacy was one of bitterness. He still tried to fight republicanism instead of fighting the real cause of the conflict which was the British in Ireland and partition.
"James Connolly was a physical force republican and today's republicans carried that fight on."
Assessing Fitt's legacy
A series of political tributes and messages of sympathy poured in to newsdesks across the country, following the news that Gerry Fitt, one of the founders of the SDLP and former West Belfast MP, had passed away.
His outspoken condemnation of the IRA made him an unpopular figure amongst republicans, however he was described last Friday as a "true friend" by civil rights activist Ivan Cooper. The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern added that he "made a very significant contribution to constitutional politics and civil rights in Northern Ireland."
But what do the people on the street think of the man who served as West Belfast MP for 17 years? We spoke to passers-by on the Glen Road in an effort to find out.
Eileen McQuaid of Coolnasilla said she remembers Gerry arriving at her mother's house on the back of a lorry. "He was good craic and down to earth. I think he was well respected by most people in the area," she said.
Friend Maurice O'Neill got to know Gerry through working in the Housing Department of the Belfast Corporation. "He was a real wit," said Maurice. "He had a great personality, and I think he was a great person – a modern day Joe Devlin. The thing that struck you about Gerry was that he was always more than willing to do anything in his power for those who asked him for help, no matter what colour or creed they were. He was definitely a man of the people."
Glen Road woman Sally Little agreed. "He did an excellent job and I think he was a brilliant man, who wasn't afraid to speak out about his beliefs, even when what he was saying wasn't the popular message of the time."
Mary Robinson, also from the Glen Road, added that he didn't deserve to have his house attacked because of his beliefs. "I think that was wrong. It shouldn't have happened. The man was standing up for what he believed in."
Sean Creaney from Aghagallon, County Antrim, says the SDLP man was a good politician. "He crossed a lot of boundaries, and did a lot of work for the people of West Belfast and further afield.
"I just hope his policies will be carried on in the future."
Finaghy Road man Brian Boyle said Gerry was "a trade unionist who strived for what was right."
He added: "Gerry was a controversial figure with a great sense of humour. I remember him describing two of his political opponents as the Lone Ranger and Tonto. It's not hard to guess who he was talking about!
"But he was a solid man with a good heart who was ironically attacked by those he wanted to help. He was also a mariner who sailed through Russian convoys, but never made a big deal about it. He became interested in the trade union movement shortly after that, and stuck very firmly to his beliefs."
