SF `famine' window proposal passed
By Mick Naughton
Sinn Féin Councillor Tom Hartley has welcomed the decision
by Belfast City Council, by a vote of 32 to 9, to instal a
stained glass window in memory of those from the city who
died during the Great Hunger.
Hartley described it as ``a small and helpful breakthrough in
our endeavours to have the shared history of the city
marked. The vote ensured that the traditions of all, but
particularly the largely unrepresented nationalist ethos,
should be seen in City Hall.'' Hartley first succeeded in
raising the issue last November. At the time DUP Councillor
Sammy Wilson objected saying there was no evidence that the
Great Hunger played a major role in the history of Belfast.
The commemorative window will recall the suffering of the
thousands of those who died in Belfast in the years between
1846 and 1849.