Patricia Black, also known as smiler or Patricia Black-Donnelly (28 November 1972 – 15 November 1991) was a Volunteer in the

Belfast Brigade "Belfast Brigade" is an Irish folk song, to the tune of "Battle Hymn of the Republic". Context The song is about the Belfast Brigade of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), and in particular the 1st, or West Belfast battalion, during the Irish War ...

of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). She was killed in St Albans in 1991 when a bomb she was carrying exploded prematurely.

Early life

Black grew up in the Lenadoon area of Belfast and was educated at St. Oliver Plunkett Primary School and St. Genevieve's Girls Secondary School in Belfast.''Tírghrá'', National Commemoration Centre, 2002. PB) p. 361Liam Ferrir - ''Northern News'', The Irish Emigrant Newspaper, Issue No.251 - 25 November 1991

IRA career

Patricia joined the IRA at the age of 17. Later Black informed her parent that she was moving to Dublin but secretly moved to London. She died, along with fellow Volunteer, Frank Ryan, on 15 November 1991, when an improvised explosive device she was carrying detonated prematurely in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

, near London. A British Army military band had been playing in theatre on St Peter's Street which the pair had planned to attack, when the device unexpectedly exploded killing her and Ryan. At the funeral of Frank Ryan a Sinn Féin leader, Jim Gibney, stated ''"Frankie and Patricia are not alone. They are representatives of a generation of Ireland's youth who have acquired the skills to remain hidden, who come forward when required to do so. How will the British defeat this invisible force?"'' Black is buried in Milltown Cemetery Belfast.

Legacy

The Volunteers Patricia Black and Frankie Ryan Memorial Flute Band from the Garngad area of Glasgow is jointly named after her, they are politically aligned to éirígí. A political mural depicting a uniformed armed female republican in uniform in the

Lenadoon Andersonstown is a suburb of west Belfast, Northern Ireland, at the foot of the Black Mountain and Divis Mountain. It contains a mixture of public and private housing and is largely a working-class area with a strong Irish nationalist and Irish ...

area of Belfast is jointly dedicated to Black as well as Laura Crawford, Bridie Quinn and Mairéad Farrell. A memorial to Black and Ryan was erected in their honour at the Sally Gardens Centre in Belfast. At its unveiling in 2007, West Belfast MLA Jennifer McCann stated ''"They are our heroes and our inspiration. They are no longer with us but let us take their vision forward."'' A memorial ceremony on the 25th anniversary of Patricia Black's death faced criticism when images of children wearing "paramilitary regalia" were circulated in the media.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Patricia 1972 births 1991 deaths Deaths by improvised explosive device in England Paramilitaries from Belfast People killed during The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Provisional Irish Republican Army members