We are gathered here today to pay homage and remember the selfless sacrifice of a brave
generation, a generation that sacrificed all to rid our country of British imperialism and domination.
Had the revolution of 1916 to 1923 not been defeated the Ireland of today would have been far different than the one we find ourselves in now. As it stands our country is under the boot of the worst kind of foreign influence, that of profit and greed and power for powers sake. In 1990 Peter Brooke on behalf of the British Government said Britain had no “selfish, strategic or economic interest” in Ireland. The foolish betrayal by our former comrades which led to trusting the words of the enemy have since proven that Selfish, Strategic and Economic is exactly what the prolonged occupation of Ireland means. Former comrades in the provisional’s have become proxies on behalf of the British Government, in the past few days through their Chair Declan Kearny they have called for negotiations with Republicans, but such negotiations are a waste of time, the only negotiations worthwhile are when we sit down to discuss the terms of Britain’s withdrawal from our country.
On the eve of his murder at the hands of the British, James Connolly, Commandant-General of the Dublin Brigade of the I.R.A. gave a letter to his daughter Nora, I wish to quote a well known section from that letter, “Believing that the British Government has no right in Ireland, never had any right in Ireland, and never can have any right in Ireland, the presence, in any one generation of Irishmen, of even a respectable minority, ready to die to affirm that truth, makes that Government forever a usurpation and a crime against human progress.”
From the ashes of Dublin in 1916 these words of no compromise rang true in the hearts and minds of a whole generation, for them the freedom of Ireland was foremost and death was better than a life of servitude in chains.
When the Provisional Government of the Irish Republic was ratified in 1919 the War against the British Occupation increased to a new level, during this time Frank O’Donoghue joined the Slatta company of the I.R.A. He was to become Chief Engineer of the 3rd Battalion, North Roscommon Brigade and later became Vice O/C of 3rd Battalion. We remember him with great pride here today for the courage he had shown in his duty serving the Republic. Frank would not bend the knee in ’21 and remained faithful to the Republic. The partition of Ireland was one of the greatest tragedy’s that hit this country. On the 8th of December Republicans ambushed a carload of Free State Officers at Lakeview, Kilglass, near Strokestown. One officer was wounded while arms and ammunition were captured; five days later at Roosky, Republicans and Free Staters came to blows again, this time resulting in fatal wounds being inflicted on Captain Frank O’Donoghue. Frank was then conveyed to a field hospital on Quaker Island on Lough Ree to recuperate but sadly he succumbed to his wounds there the following year and died.
It must be said, 1916 is unfinished business and until we redress the core fundamentals of that revolutionary period and bring it to a conclusive end which will be the full freedom of Ireland, Ireland as Padráig Pearse said shall never be at peace. The Ireland we have inherited is not the country envisioned by the leaders of the 1916 Rising. Our country has been moulded to suits the needs of foreign capitalists and to maintain Anglo-America culture as the primary cultural force in our country. This needs to be opposed and exposed in equal measures. Promoting the Irish language and using it as often as we can is vitally important in protecting the separate identity of our nation and fostering pride in a new generation of Irish youth.
The Frees State is an enemy of Irish Republicanism as much as the Brits, they masquerade and call themselves a Republic to hijack a tradition they only pay hypocritical homage too. We have called them the Free State, the 26-County State, but it would be more apt to call them the Slave State. That is what they are and they have sold off 26 Counties to the highest bidder. So we all need to get back to fundamentals and Republican Sinn Féin is the only political organisation that can trace a direct line of unbroken continuity with the All Ireland Republic.
For us the words written in the Proclamation of 1916 are as important now as ever before and I quote “The Irish Republic is entitled to and hereby claims the allegiance of every Irishman and woman.” The Irish Republic never went away, it was driven underground by the forces of imperialism but despite that it’s authority is intact and rests in trust with the Continuity Army Council of the Irish Republican Army and we in Republic Sinn Féin re-affirm our full support to the All Ireland Republic and urge all organised body’s and individuals to withdraw support from the assemblies planted in this country by the British Government as a way to control us and dictate our future.
To make matters more difficult we are faced with a twin imperialist structure in this country, British occupation on the one hand and EU domination on the other. Of course it is easier to resist the old style colonial occupation of the Brits than that of the EU, but the latter has proven certainly in recent times to be as equally as deathly for our nation as the economy is used to dominate and control. It makes our job more difficult, but we in Republican Sinn Féin as a revolutionary organisation cannot address one without tackling the other, and we intend to do both. And we aim to bring a positive message to our people at the same time.
To this end, this Easter Republican Sinn Féin has launched The Seven Signatories Manifesto based on Éire Nua and Saol Nua policy, this is available free to distribute and is the first in a series of publications aimed at explaining simply our alternative to the people of Ireland.
But before we can realise our objectives there is a long road to travel and we must spare a thought and never forget our P.O.W.s who currently languish in prisons because they dare to stand and do what needs to be done for the freedom of Ireland to be realised. Next month Martin Corey will have spent his third year interned without a reason; we must all be Martin’s voice and redouble our efforts to get him home.
The State sponsored suppression and surveillance of Republicans continues as per usual and remains a turn off for many people, but all we need is a committed minority prepared to put in the work for us to achieve our goals and we will not be deterred nor reflected from our objectives, we will continue no matter what. And the States we oppose and the proxies they use will never destroy a movement that’s principles are based on truth, honour, integrity and discipline.
Before I finish I am currently reading a book on Terence MacSwiney and thought this passage from his inaugural speech as Lord Mayor of Cork on March 30 1920 would be fitting to close this oration as it articulates very well the deeper significance of those who gave their life’s blood in pursuit of a Sovereign and Independent Ireland, “But it is because they were our best and bravest that they had to die. No lesser sacrifice would save us. Because of it our struggle is holy, our battle is sanctified by their blood and our victory is assured by their martyrdom. We, taking up the work they left incomplete, confident in God, offer in turn sacrifice from ourselves. It is not we who take innocent blood, but we offer it, sustained by the example of our immortal dead, and that Divine Example which inspires us all for the redemption of our country.
Facing our enemy, we must declare our attitude simply... We ask no mercy and we will accept no compromise.”
An Phoblacht Abú
Seán Dolan, R.S.F. Ard Chomairle
