TYRONE ANNUAL EASTER MONDAY COMMEMORATION: CARRICKMORE
The Tyrone annual Easter Monday commemoration in Carrickmore was led by the Coloured Party and accompanied by several bands and pipers. It made its way through Carrickmore to the Garden of Remembrance. Tyrone National Graves Chairman Eamon Hanna chaired the event. Declan Arthurs sang the Foggy Dew, Councillor Kevin McElvogue read the Tyrone Roll of Honour, Marian Vincent read the 1916 Proclamation. Farrah Koutteineh a Palestinian national, addressed the crowd about what is happening in Palestine and the similarities between what the British have done in Ireland and what the settler-colonial Israeli regime is doing in Palestine. Caoimhe Ní Loingsigh then give the main oration:
“In the rugged heart of Tyrone, where the winds whisper tales of resilience and courage, where the rivers flow with the spirit of rebellion, and where the very earth beneath our feet resonates with the echoes of freedom’s call, we gather today with solemn hearts and unyielding spirits.
Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that was evident in Ireland in 1798, 1916, during the latest campaign and still continues through to this day.”
“Today we stand not just as individuals but as torchbearers of a legacy forged in the fires of sacrifice and steeled by the unbreakable will of those who dared to fight for a 32-county independent socialist republic. Today, we gather to remember, to honour, and to pay tribute to the brave sons and daughters of Ireland – the men and women of Oglaigh na hEireann – who made the ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of justice, equality, and the unshackling of their beloved homeland. As Padraig Pearse wrote, “Our patriotism is not measured by the formula in which we declare it but by the service we render,” and nowhere was that call to service more readily adhered to than here in the green mountains and valleys of Tyrone. For these brave sons and daughters of Roisin, marched fearlessly into the fray against the remnants of the English empire. Their footsteps have marked the path to freedom, and their names will forever be etched in the annals of Irish history.”
“For every oglach who laid down their life upon the altar of liberty, for every oglach who stood defiantly against the forces of oppression, and for every oglach who shared the burdens of struggle and the joys of camaraderie, we gather today to ensure that their legacy endures, that their sacrifices are never forgotten, and that their aspirations continue to inspire future generations. With their dying breaths these brave soldiers created an everlasting legacy.”
“In the face of tyranny and injustice, the men and women of the IRA were, unyielding in their resolve, unflinching in their defiance, and unwavering in their commitment to the cause of Irish freedom and unification. They fought with valour and determination, knowing that their struggle was not just for themselves but for the generations yet unborn, who would inherit the fruits of their labours and the blessings of a free Ireland. The unimpregnable orange state that existed 60 years ago is now teetering on the precipice of destruction due to the actions of the brave volunteers we commemorate today. Tyrone has an historic record of fighting the English oppressor and has always produced the most fearless descendants baptised in the Fenian faith. Less than a month after the 1916 easter rising, the RIC in Tyrone commented, Perhaps in no other county in Ireland had stronger or more insidious influences been at work than in this county, since the outbreak of the War, to undermine the loyalty of the people to the crown and spread the insurrectionary movement.” This sentiment was also shared by the uk prime minister Herbert Henry Asquith 2 years previous when he said, “We sat again for an hour and a half discussing maps and figures and always getting back to that most damnable creation of the perverted ingenuity of man – the County of Tyrone.” As a county we have proudly been a thorn in the side of Britania and your presence here today continues that legacy. There are those who argue that arms were unnecessary and that a nonviolent campaign would have achieved more. Those people are truly mistaken. The British empire will not fall on its own. It will need to be pushed. The accumulation of extortionate wealth will never cease. It has to be stopped. The capitalist and imperialist class will never willingly surrender its power. It will have to be dispossessed. Historical events such as the French and Cuban revolutions taught the volunteers of Oglach na hEireann that the might of an empire can only be brought down by armed resistance. The brave volunteers of the IRA understood this and hence they engaged in combat with the English foe.”
“Comrades, there are those however who claim to hail from the wider republican family, who do not share my adoration for our fallen heroes. We are seeing former IRA members and so-called republicans insulting the memories of our brave volunteers by endorsing the presence of the English monarchy and rule in Ireland. We as the heirs to Connolly, Clarke and Pearse’s republic, will not idly sit back and let those who support imperialism worldwide while simultaneously administrating it in Ireland to destroy the reputation of our brave volunteers. You simply cannot claim to be a republican while also being a bedfellow with the very system in which you claim to oppose. For those who seek to wine and dine in the palaces of England, I only have to recite the words of Mary MacSwiney, sister of Terence MacSwiney in my condemnation of their adulation for the English monarchy, “I will never accept the king of England as the king of Ireland.”
“We the republicans of Tyrone stand in solidarity with the oppressed, both at home and abroad. We cannot turn a blind eye to the injustices suffered by those in Palestine. Our brothers and sisters in Gaza suffer under the brutal occupation of the Israeli Zionist regime, their land stolen, their homes demolished, their lives shattered. Yet the gombeens in Stormont and Leinster House stand idly by as innocent lives are lost and families torn apart.”
“It is very simple, anyone who supports genocide Joe or any of the political parties that claim to share a “deep relationship” with his administration are deliberately and consciously accepting the responsibility for the deaths of innocent civilians in Palestinians.”
“I stand before you today as a proud socialist republican who is honoured to remember our fallen heroes, but I am filled with a mixture of emotions. On one hand, I feel a deep sense of pride for the courage and determination displayed by those who fought tirelessly for the cause of Irish freedom. Yet on the other hand, I cannot help but feel a burning anger at the current state of affairs in our beloved land. I am sickened by the failure of both the northern 6 counties and the Free state. Look around you and see the suffering of our people in every corner of our island. In the shackled 6 counties, we witness a healthcare system on the brink of collapse, the education system rapidly being choked and affordable housing vanishing into the pockets of corrupt landlords while politicians line their pockets with blood soaked money. The issue of corruption and failure is not merely contained to the 6 counties it also is duplicated in the free state, where the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen at an alarming rate. The politicians sit comfortably in their ivory towers, turning a blind eye to the struggles of ordinary citizens. Homelessness is rampant on the streets, yet leinster house squanders money on lavish projects and corporate handouts.The declaration of the first dáil, 105 years ago is something we should aspire to whenever we organising our new republic, “no child shall suffer hunger or cold from lack of food, clothing or selter.” A basic demand that that will only be fully implemented in a 32 country socialist republic. So I say to you, my fellow Irishmen and women, let us rise up and reclaim our land. The time for complacency is over. The time for action is now. Let us march forward together, united in our righteous anger, until justice prevails, and Ireland is free once more!”
“In concluding my speech, I feel that it is only fitting that I quote from one of the 1916 leaders, Thomas MacDonagh. Before he was executed he delivered the following, “I adhere to every statement in the Proclamation. From minds alight with Ireland’s vivid intellect it sprang; in hearts aflame with Ireland’s mighty love it was conceived. Such documents do not die. The Rising did not result from accidental circumstances, it came in due recurring season as the necessary outcome of forces that are ever at work. The fierce pulsation of resurgent pride that disclaims servitude may one day cease to throb in the heart of Ireland, but the heart of Ireland will that day be dead. While Ireland lives, the brains and brawn of her manhood will strive to destroy the last vestige of British rule in her territories. England make no mistake, the generous high-bred youth of Ireland will never fail to answer the call we pass on to them, will never fail to blaze forth in the red rave of war to win their country’s freedom”
“As we stand here today, beneath the watchful gaze of those who have gone before us and before we embark on our homeward journeys, let us pledge to carry their torch forward, to keep alive the flame of liberty that the brave men and woman of Tyrone lit with their very lives, and to never waver in our commitment to the ideals for which they fought and died. For comrades, family and friends the sun of the British empire is now truly setting and the sun of the 32 county socialist republic is rising. Onwards to the republic!!”