In the back-yard of their Short Strand home, which has played host to the
world's media, pots and pans and children's toys poke out of cardboard boxes
packed with the McCartney family's belongings.
Paula McCartney, her husband Jim, and five children are moving out. She
loves these streets, where she was born and lived for 40 years, but
harassment since her brother Robert was murdered, has forced her to say
goodbye.
"I'm trying not to be sad, you have to look forward," Paula says. "Leaving
the Short Strand will make daily life much easier. We won't have to waste
time dealing with all the hassle. We'll be able to focus solely on getting
justice for Robert. But it won't sink in that I'm really going until I lock
the door for the final time on Monday."
In the kitchen, only a kettle, teabags, and cups remain. Even under the
pressure of moving, Paula is hospitable to the end, offering tea and
biscuits.
Inside, the rooms are almost bare. Her youngest son, three-year-old Gerard,
scribbles happily on the walls. He's packed his toy soldiers but wants to
be sure Winnie the Pooh hasn't been left behind.
In the living-room only two plants, the TV, a chair, and Paula's cigarettes
and lighter are left. It was eight months ago in this room, with its warm
mustard walls, that the McCartney sisters sat, nervous but defiant, telling
the story of their brother's murder for the first time to the Sunday
Tribune.
But the room has other, more vivid, memories, for Paula. "I can still see
our Robert bursting through the door, full of banter. He filled the room,
the size of him. He would slag my two teenage sons about their hair, saying
it was too short. He'd wrestle and muck about with them."
Mostly, Paula tries to shut out memories of Robert, but the move has made
that impossible. "I was clearing the cloakroom. Buried under everything, I
found this coat that Robert bought for the christening of his son Brandon.
"It's a big black parka, with lots of fur. His mates teased him it was too
girlie and he never wore it again. I don't know whether to keep it or give
it to a charity shop."
There's a toy lorry which Robert bought Gerard last Christmas, a month
before he was murdered. It's broken now but Gerard won't part with his
uncle's present.
Bridgeen Hagans, Robert's partner, and their two children, live round the
corner. Her home has been attacked and picketed so she's moving out next
month. "It'll be very hard for her," says Paula. "I never consult my
husband about buying furniture, but Bridgeen and Robert chose everything
together.
"So when she's moving, every single item will bring back memories of him."
Paula's new house is in the religiously mixed Four Winds area of South
Belfast. "It's tiny – you get less house for your money than in the Short
Strand. I don't know how we'll all fit in but it'll be more homely."
Paula has tried to soften the move for her children: "We don't have a garden
here but there's one in Four Winds and I've bought a swing and slide for
Gemma.
"Mark will miss the youth club so I'm putting weights and a punch bag in the
new garage for him. I've got a tree-house for Gerard. He thinks the move is
an adventure anyway. There's a grassy slope in the garden but it looks
bigger to him. He's telling his friends he has his very own hill."
Paula knows Four Winds is different from the Short Strand. "Oh, we'll be
having drinks on the patio, instead of a carry-out on Friday nights," she
jokes. "I hope when all the media arrive at the house when they need
interviews, the locals won't brand us the neighbours from hell."
Fifteen people were involved in Robert's murder, the attempted murder of
Brendan Devine, and the clean-up operation. Only two people have been
charged.
The McCartneys are planning a civil action. Fund-raising starts on a US trip
next month. They'll hold talks with Senator Edward Kennedy; Hilary Clinton
says she'd like to meet them too.
Paula stresses that many of her neighbours have been very supportive of the
family's campaign. "I'd like to thank the people of the Short Strand who
were brave enough to take a stand. The rest should listen to their
consciences.
"People here suffered loyalist violence and RUC brutality, and now there's
intimidation from those who claimed to be our protectors. But I'm not
leaving full of hatred and bitterness. I'll always be proud to say I came
from the Short Strand."
