It is located to the right of the cemetery from the front gate and is marked by an Irish Tricolour, the national flag of Ireland. Many IRA volunteers including three of the ten 1981 hunger strikers are buried there.
In March 1988 a loyalist volunteer named Michael Stone attacked a crowd of mourners with hand grenades and pistols. The attack occurred at the Republican plot during the funerals of three Provisional IRA volunteers, who were killed by British forces in Gibraltar. Three people were killed and many more injured.
After the 1867 Fenian Rising in Dublin, organized by the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) against British rule in Ireland, a committee was formed to care for the graves of deceased patriots. In 1926 this committee became known as the National Graves Association.
The National Graves Association, Belfast (Cumann Uaigheann na Laocradh Gaedheal, Béal Feirste) was founded in the mid 1930’s. This voluntary organization maintains the graves of republicans buried in Belfast.
Republican Plots
Other plots commemorating individuals who died for the Republican cause include the Harbinson plot (1912), County Antrim Memorial Plot (1969 - 1972), the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) and the Workers Party.
