A new mural to a veteran campaigner who lost his wife to a plastic bullet will be unveiled in west Belfast on Saturday.
Jim McCabe passed away in January this year, aged in his seventies, and spent decades working for change when his with Nora (33) was killed after being hit by a plastic bullet fired by the RUC in July 1981.
The final touches on the mural at the International Wall on Falls Road were being completed on Friday.
Mr McCabe’s son, also called Jim, told The Irish News it was a proud day for the family even though his father had never sought the limelight.
After his mother’s death, the RUC had claimed there had been rioting because of the death of the IRA hunger striker Joe McDonnell.
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This was later challenged by a Canadian television crew, who backed up reports by The Irish News that the street had actually been quiet.
No one has ever been charged with her death.
Speaking last month, Jim recalled how his father was left to raise three children after the tragedy and became a committed campaigner.
“My father campaigned for years, he travelled all around the world and was invited to Rome. He then helped to form the first Relatives for Justice office on the Falls Road,” he said.
“He set that up for relatives that were going through what we were going through, to support them.
“He did a lot of work right up until he got very sick with COPD. His final campaign was a march last year where he led people up the road in his disability scooter.
“He still had his oxygen tank with him, but it was a very proud day for him as he had his kids and grandchildren behind him.”
He continued: “It means the world to us as children to see our father honoured. We are giving our father what he deserves, even though he didn’t think he deserved it.
“He thought he was just another family member, and he always taught us to never give up. He also told us to never get into the politics side of it, just to do what we were doing and get justice for our mother."
Saturday's event will begin at Islandbawn Street at 2pm, with those attending walking to the international wall for the official unveiling.
