York Road comes to a standstill to mark 50 years since the IRA bombing of Times Bar: Mural to two men killed in atrocity unveiled at North Belfast site
Part of north Belfast came to a standstill this evening (5th) to mark 50 years since the IRA bombing of the Times Bar.
A mural to the two men killed in the republican atrocity, Edward McMurray and Robert Groves, was unveiled on the side of the York Road bar as family members, visibly moved, laid wreaths at the touching tribute to loved ones taken so cruelly from them.
Several hundred people lined the street to show the community’s continuing support for the families and collective memory for those killed and injured in the blast, while bands from local lodges performed songs to begin and end the ceremony, including the national anthem.
A lone piper performed a lament after the memorial was unveiled, providing a moment of solemn reflection for the assembled crowd but, most of all, still-grieving family members of the dead.
A song written by the families of both men was played, giving the tales of their lives in lyrical form while reinforcing the inhumanity of the way all their hopes, dreams and passions were so violently ended.
Speaking during the service, North Belfast MLA Phillip Brett reinforced the crowd was there to remember “all those who were injured, traumatised and bereaved by that terrible event”.
Turning to the families of victims, he said: “Your loved ones have never been forgotten, and they never will be forgotten by this community.”
The DUP politician described the June 5, 1976 atrocity as “an act of indiscriminate murder carried out by those who sought to bring terror to our streets, to break the spirit of this community, and try to rid Ulster of our people”.
He added: “We had a message for them 50 years ago and we have a message for them now – we will never be broken.”
In the aftermath of the bomb, he said, the York Road community came together to remember the dead and stand with the injured.
"Fifty years on,” Mr Brett stated, “we gather not only to remember, but to proudly say that this community was not broken then and it will never be broken now.
“We will always remember the victims of the past, and we will never allow those who, today, try to rewrite the past.
"There was always an alternative to violence and we will proudly stand against those terrorists who try to tell us otherwise.
“Today we stand together as a community, and we will always stand together in this community to remember innocent victims, to stand against terrorists and say that we will never be broken.”
The memorial event involved members of several organisations, including the RUC George Cross Foundation and victims group SEFF.
Kenny Donaldson, director of SEFF, said the evening was of great importance to families and the community.
“For a lot of people, 50 years may seem a long time,” he told the News Letter, “but having spoken to family members, many are still locked in that moment.
“[At the time] one was a 15-year-old girl; she’s now a lady of 65, but standing here she will have felt that age all over again.
"Within the community, there’s a sense these events must be remembered. These were two innocent men who stopped off to have a drink and were murdered in sectarian bloodletting.”