Author Topic: Divis Flats Tragedy  (Read 24753 times)

gangsta princess

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Re: Divis Flats Tragedy
« Reply #30 on: January 27, 2009, 02:26:10 AM »
They were called the crying stairs after 2 soldiers were killed in an explosion on them. Myth had it that it was them who was crying.

I was just telling my other half about the story of the child who fell into the manhole and was washed away.  How the subject came about was that I spoke to an old friend in Castle Street and I related the story to her because he had phoned me to see if the body was washed along towards Unity Flats.  We opened the manholes and searched.  The fire brigade recovered the body.

Young Bennett and Valliday were killed in an explosion along with as oldier not far from the crying stairs.

I was in the area at the time of that bomb.  I was playing near St Peters with my friends and heard the explosion.  I remember Fr Crummey (r.i.p) out for a wee stroll that night and he had been chatting to us.  Next thing there were people running around everywhere and my big sis came up and I remember her hugging me and bringing me home through the park.   That sight still stays with me.  All the back windows of Cullingtree  and some in Masserine were blew out and seeing a rifle lying along with all the shrapnel.   I'd only been in Stephen Bennetts earlier.  His sister Leeanne was my friend.


Eleanor

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Re: Divis Flats Tragedy
« Reply #31 on: January 27, 2009, 10:15:17 AM »
twas an "urban myth" replace'belfast 'with any other city.

It isn't an urban myth. I'm not saying where I heard the story, but it came from an official source.
Hate the sin, but love the sinner

murph

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Re: Divis Flats Tragedy
« Reply #32 on: January 27, 2009, 10:45:57 AM »
i can remember walking a long gilford row i was v,young at the time it was early 70s and i herd this big thump wen i looked over the balcony i saw the girl lien there i ran like mad home told my ma wen we got back the cops and all were there.so yes some 1 did jump form the tower block but i was to young to find out
who it was there was no kid it was a girl.i ran about with patrick Rooney RIP he was my mate and there was
no gun Battle them [censored] killed my mate for nothing.and i lived 5 doors from the crying stairs me and my
mates were playing there 3 hours be fore the bomb went off on that old mattress we went down to the
youth club we were there 4 about 20 min and it went off [censored] we were lucky,wen i ran up the place was like
my god the Brits were in a bad way people :-[ were ruining all over the place my bro was lifted and held for 3 days and we were helping them [censored] yep that was a bad site and thats y they got that name because people say they herd crying at night,

Eleanor

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Re: Divis Flats Tragedy
« Reply #33 on: January 27, 2009, 11:14:19 AM »
I give up. I can't find out anything about this story anywhere. Like I said before, it may not have been Divis Flats but I was almost sure it was. :(
Hate the sin, but love the sinner

tboy

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Re: Divis Flats Tragedy
« Reply #34 on: January 27, 2009, 09:52:16 PM »
a fellow in london on hearing i was returning to belfast asked if i would drop off an enveloppe containing his wages to his wife in the flats, this was in 1977.walking through the flats on saturday morning looking for his number my hair was standing on end,everything was dark there were cars burning in the square,when i found the number they would not open their door so i had to shout through the letterbox and then push the enveloppe in. when i got out of the flats and was standing on the falls road it felt like i was on top of cave hill with the fresh air.

sapper

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Re: Divis Flats Tragedy
« Reply #35 on: January 28, 2009, 01:15:09 AM »
It isn't an urban myth. I'm not saying where I heard the story, but it came from an official source.

can't be a very good ''official'' source if you don't know the name of the person, where it happenedor when, also as was said before I don't think they reward you with new digs for tossing your kid out the window

tboy

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Re: Divis Flats Tragedy
« Reply #36 on: January 28, 2009, 01:20:41 AM »
another urban myth was ' me and my my mates were on patrol around divis flats when one was flattened by a fridge dropped from the thirteenth floor'  ???

pussy-galore

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Re: Divis Flats Tragedy
« Reply #37 on: January 28, 2009, 04:01:56 AM »
can't be a very good ''official'' source if you don't know the name of the person, where it happenedor when, also as was said before I don't think they reward you with new digs for tossing your kid out the window

Indeed!  O0 :)

Eleanor

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Re: Divis Flats Tragedy
« Reply #38 on: January 28, 2009, 10:17:52 AM »
Indeed!  O0 :)

I was told this story a long time ago. I didn't ask the name of the person - why would I have needed to know at the time? - or exactly when it happened. I wasn't a journalist writing a story where I had to have all the facts right. The new accommodation wouldn't have been a reward; it was probably damage limitation. it would have looked even worse for the Housing Executive if the woman, having killed her baby, then killed herself. 
Hate the sin, but love the sinner

robertc1

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Re: Divis Flats Tragedy
« Reply #39 on: January 28, 2009, 10:19:37 AM »
I was told this story a long time ago. I didn't ask the name of the person - why would I have needed to know at the time? - or exactly when it happened. I wasn't a journalist writing a story where I had to have all the facts right. The new accommodation wouldn't have been a reward; it was probably damage limitation. it would have looked even worse for the Housing Executive if the woman, having killed her baby, then killed herself. 
O0 O0

pussy-galore

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Re: Divis Flats Tragedy
« Reply #40 on: January 28, 2009, 11:00:25 AM »
I was told this story a long time ago. I didn't ask the name of the person - why would I have needed to know at the time? - or exactly when it happened. I wasn't a journalist writing a story where I had to have all the facts right. The new accommodation wouldn't have been a reward; it was probably damage limitation. it would have looked even worse for the Housing Executive if the woman, having killed her baby, then killed herself. 

I notice you didn't quote Sapper ;) ;D

arkie

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Re: Divis Flats Tragedy
« Reply #41 on: January 28, 2009, 11:23:44 PM »
THAT STORY ABOUT A BABY AND ITS MOTHER IS NONSENSE.  BUT A YOUNG LADY IN ABOUT HER EARLY 30S WAS TALKING TO ME LATE 70s EARLY 80s. she told me she was very depressed. I TRIED TO COMFORT HER . BUT THE FOLLOWING DAY I WAS TOLD SHE TOOK HER OWN LIFE . BY JUMPING FROM ONE OF THE TOP FLOORS IN THE DIVIS TOWER. SHE WAS A BEAUTIFUL GIRL. TWO OTHER PEOPLE ALSO JUMPED TO THERE DEATH FROM THE TOWER. A MR. HENRY. AND A MR. MC GURK. ONE OTHER MAN FELL FROM ONE OF THE BALCONYS IN THE COMPLEX.

andypandy

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Re: Divis Flats Tragedy
« Reply #42 on: January 29, 2009, 12:11:15 PM »
Just a few lines to shoot some of these urban myths out of the water. the story of the woman throwing the baby from the window never happened.  the woman who died after falling from Divis tower was called Collette Conway, it happened on Sunday April 1st 1978. I think she used to live on Cullingtree walk, but at the time of her death she had moved to Sevastapol street. The crying stairs were at the junction of Pound, Farset & Cullingtree blocks and I think that 2 British Soldiers were killed. one was a black guy and I remember hearing a yarn from someone that he was stopped and searched by the Brits on the "crying stairs" one night and when he got to the balony there were no other Brits about. he said that one of the Brits was black.  Young Bennett & Valliday were killed in a bomb on 16th September 1982 a soldier was also killed. the bomb was on Cullingtree walk close to the crying stairs. As for the story of someone throwing a fridge from the 13th floor. there was no 13th floor in Divis flats, there is a 13th floor in Divis tower, but the windows would not open wide enough to throw a fridge from!

spot

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Re: Divis Flats Tragedy
« Reply #43 on: January 29, 2009, 01:41:45 PM »
Just a few lines to shoot some of these urban myths out of the water. the story of the woman throwing the baby from the window never happened.  the woman who died after falling from Divis tower was called Collette Conway, it happened on Sunday April 1st 1978. I think she used to live on Cullingtree walk, but at the time of her death she had moved to Sevastapol street. The crying stairs were at the junction of Pound, Farset & Cullingtree blocks and I think that 2 British Soldiers were killed. one was a black guy and I remember hearing a yarn from someone that he was stopped and searched by the Brits on the "crying stairs" one night and when he got to the balony there were no other Brits about. he said that one of the Brits was black.  Young Bennett & Valliday were killed in a bomb on 16th September 1982 a soldier was also killed. the bomb was on Cullingtree walk close to the crying stairs. As for the story of someone throwing a fridge from the 13th floor. there was no 13th floor in Divis flats, there is a 13th floor in Divis tower, but the windows would not open wide enough to throw a fridge from!

           andypandy your 100% right O0
Spot

tboy

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Re: Divis Flats Tragedy
« Reply #44 on: January 29, 2009, 07:23:42 PM »
  andipandi, on patrol 'around' divis flats would include the tower block, as for the windows not opening wide enough ? who mentioned opening them?  anyway as was stated it was an 'urban myth' :-*


 

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