Derry woman Isabell Barbour (née Anderson) will be remembered as “a proud Cumann na mBan woman”, a devoted mother and grandmother, and a woman of conviction and an “unbreakable spirit” mourners gathered at her funeral were told.

Isabell died in her sleep while on holiday in Benidorm, Spain on October 17, 2026.

She was the beloved mother of Kevin, Eoghan and Claire and the devoted Granny of Leo and Ella, the daughter of the late Dinky and Betty Anderson, and a much loved sister of Robert, Helen, Jack, Peter, Noeleen, Christine, Martina, Sharon and the late Sheena.

Isabell’s Requiem Mass took place in St Columba’s Church, Long Tower and she was laid to rest afterwards in Derry City Cemetery.

placeholder image — The late Isabell Barbour.

The oration at Isabell’s graveside was delivered by her comrade and friend Lynn Fleming, former Waterside Sinn Féín councillor and Mayor of Derry.

“Today, we gather with heavy hearts to remember, honour and celebrate the life of a remarkable woman, a proud Irish republican, a devoted mother and grandmother, a loyal friend, a fearless comrade, and a woman whose courage, conviction and strength will never be forgotten,” began Lynn Fleming.

“I have known Isabell and the Anderson family for all of my adult life. Our history together stretches back decades. Many a night I have stayed in the Anderson family home, and on countless occasions I have stood alongside Isabell and Rosie. We shared experiences, struggles, laughter, difficult days and moments that only those who lived through them can truly understand.

“There are so many stories I could tell about Isabell. Some would make you laugh, some would bring a tear to your eye, and others would remind you of the extraordinary times in which we lived.

Isabell's coffin is carried to St Columba's Church, Long Tower for Requiem Mass.

“Isabell was a woman of tremendous courage and backbone. She was a proud member of Cumann na mBan, and she carried that identity with enormous pride.

“She believed that women had their own place, their own voice and their own identity within the Republican struggle. She did not take kindly to the merger, because she never wanted the identity of Cumann na mBan to be lost or diminished. She wanted the women to be recognised for who they were, what they stood for and what they had contributed.

“And that tells you so much about Isabell. She was a woman who knew her own mind. She was not one to be easily silenced, pushed aside or told to stand back. If she believed in something, she stood by it, if she thought something was wrong, she said so and if she believed that women deserved recognition, respect and a voice of their own, then she would stand her ground

“That was Isabell. Fierce in her convictions, unshakeable in her principles and loyal to the very end.”

Lynn Fleming said Isabell’s years of active service’ came at a great personal cost’. “On one occasion Isabell was injured when a device prematurely exploded as she was carrying it. She had to be cared for and brought back to health, but Isabell was not someone who allowed the injury to define her; defeat her, and it certainly didn't deter her. Thankfully she survived, recovered and lived to fight another day. That determination was part of her very being.

“In 1981, One of the darkest years in the Republican calendar, Derry brigade Oglaigh na hÉireann were asked to provide an honour guard for three of our brave hungerstrikers - Frances Hughes, Thomas Mc Elwee and Martin Hurson.

“These were deeply emotional and significant moments in our history. Isabell along with Gerry Mc Cartney, another stalwart of the Republican movement, were given the task of ensuring that those taking part conducted themselves with the dignity and discipline befitting such an occasion.”

Isabell was also, mourners were told, a woman who loved deeply, who carried her family in her heart and who understood loyalty in its most personal and profound form.

“Isabell married Twinkle Barbour and for more than 13 years she visited him in Long Kesh. Before Twinkle went to jail Isabell had Kevin her first born son whom she always described as her rock who she could not survive without, and then came Eoghan, a son she loved so dearly.

“When Clare, her daughter, gave birth to baby Leo, Isabell embraced being a grandmother and for the first year of Leo's life was his doting granny.

“To Kevin, Eoghan, Clare, little Leo and baby Ella: your mother and grandmother was a woman of extraordinary strength, but she was also a woman whose heart was filled with love for you. Her life was about far more than the struggles she faced. It was about the family she cherished, the people she stood by and the love she gave so freely.

“Isabell also visited her sister Martina in Brixton prison and then Durham jail in England. She was central to the stop strip searching campaign, another human rights abuse which Martina and her comrade Ella suffered many times on a daily basis.

“Isabell was a rebel, and she remained a rebel to the end of her days.”

Lynn Fleming spoke of how Isabell died suddenly while on holiday in Benidorm with her best friend and comrade Rosie.

“There is something profoundly heartbreaking about that. A woman whose life was so intertwined with others, whose friendships had endured for decades, whose presence had been woven into the lives of so many, gone so suddenly.

“And to every member of the Anderson and Barbour families, and to all Isabell's friends and comrades: please know that you do not stand alone in your grief. Isabell belonged to her family but she also held a place in the hearts and memories of so many others who will feel her loss because her life touched so many."

Isabell’s Month Mind Mass will take place in St Eugene’s Cathedral, Derry on Saturday, November 28 at 7:30pm.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis.