RSF Easter Commemoration , Balbriggan Bridge, Saturday 3rd April 2010.











"RIC Head Constable Peter Burke and his brother, Sgt Michael Burke are attacked by the IRA in Mrs Smith's public house on The Square, Balbriggan, Co. Dublin. In retaliation, the Auxiliaries, who are based in Gormanstown, carry out reprisals in Balbriggan, killing two suspected IRA men, burning 54 houses, a hosiery factory and loot four public houses. This became known as the 'Sack of Balbriggan'....."
(From here.)

The parade leaves the assembly point on its way to the Memorial Stone on the bridge.

RSF Colour Party member at the Memorial Stone on Balbriggan Bridge.

About thirty Irish Republicans and supporters braved the damp weather - which, near the end of the Commemoration , turned (once again!) to heavy rain - and stood on both sides of Balbriggan Bridge to remember two Republicans who were murdered by British Auxiliaries on 20th September 1920.

A member of Na Fianna Éireann at the RSF Commemoration , Balbriggan , Saturday 3rd April 2010.

The Commemoration was Chaired by Andy Connolly , Dublin, who spoke about the similarities between the aims and objectives of Irish Republicans then , and now : that of securing , by whatever means necessary,a complete British political and military withdrawal from Ireland. A wreath was laid on behalf of the Republican Movement , the Easter Message from the leadership of the Movement was read to the crowd, the 1916 Proclamation was read by a member of the RSF Colour Party, and a letter of support from Irish Republican POW's was read.

A member of the RSF Colour Party reads the 1916 Proclamation on Balbriggan Bridge.

A family relation of Sean Gibbons, one of the men murdered by the British Auxiliaries , was present and was welcomed by the organisers. He was extremely happy to see that fellow Republicans had gathered to remember his relation and said Seán himself would have appreciated it. After the National Flag was dipped , the Chairperson thanked all who had braved the elements and made the effort to attend, and brought proceedings to a close by singing Amhrán na bhFiann.
Finally - four members of the 'Special Branch' tried to hinder or stop the Commemoration by constantly threatening to arrest those present for refusing to co-operate with them or/and for not fully answering the questions that were shouted at them. It was made clear in no uncertain terms to them by RSF that a Republican ceremony will be held there, today , regardless of what action the State takes against them ;those present formed-up amidst the mini-melee that the Branch had instigated and proceedings began , as planned.
A full report , with extra pictures , will be carried in the May 2010 issue of 'Saoirse' - the only true and genuine monthly Irish Republican newspaper - which will be available from the usual outlets on Wednesday 5th May 2010.
Thanks!
Sharon.

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Aitheasc an Uachtaráin Ruairí Ó Brádaigh don 85ú Ard-Fheis de Shinn Féin in Óstlann an Spa , Leamhcán , Co. Atha Cliath , 21ú agus 22ú Deireadh Fómhair , 1989 /
Presidential Address of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh to the 85th Ard-Fheis of Sinn Féin in the Spa Hotel , Lucan , County Dublin , 21st and 22nd October 1989.....

" On the Polish issue , we supported the demand for democracy and the restoration of basic human and national rights from the outset at a time when many other socialist groupings felt they had better remain silent just because it appeared Ronald Reagan's (pictured here, on the right. Naturally.) brand of 'republicanism' was on the same side. The fact that one undemocratic Stalinist regime in Eastern Europe was forced out of office by the blunt demands of the peoople , is significant and important , if only because it shows what can be done.

We accept also that the Polish Bishop of Rome , who visited Ireland ten years ago, lent considerable diplomatic as well as spiritual weight to the Solidarity effort. But we must , as people who sought serious dialogue with the Pope on his Irish visit, and got little or nowhere, remind those who seek to draw comparisons with the Irish situation that while the people of Warsaw and Gdansk feared a Russian invasion, and agonised about what to do when or if the tanks rolled in , the people of Belfast and Derry have to face the reality of foreign troops on the streets day in and day out.

In reminding ourselves of what John Paul II had to say in Ireland we should also point out , as others always fail to do, that the plea for the creation of political structures that would make physical force unnecessary in Ireland has fallen on very deaf ears indeed. The big lie about the real aggressors in Ireland , the root cause of the problem and the massive international attempt to overlook the denial of Ireland's right to national self-determination, is one of the most immoral conspiracies against truth and any real search for justice in this century......."
(MORE LATER).




BETRAYAL.......
The (State) Gardaí used John Corcoran (pictured) as a (P)IRA informer. They allowed him to be killed by another (P)IRA informer, and have since refused to investigate his murder*.
From 'MAGILL' magazine, Christmas Annual 1997.
By Ursula Halligan and Vincent Browne.
(* '1169...' Comment - their word, not ours.)

Eileen Corcoran said - " I went back to the gardaí on Friday (22nd March 1985) and I wasn't very pleasant to the sergeant on duty. I asked him were they holding John and weren't telling me . This thought had come into my mind . I was desperate. I was desperate for answers and I'm still desperate for answers."

The following day , Saturday 23rd March 1985, John Corcoran's body was found . An anonymous caller rang Fr Liam O' Cuiv in Dublin's Pro Catherdal and said - "John Corcoran is dead." The caller said that his body could be found between the Ballincollig waterworks and Kilnaglory , outside Cork City. He said the dead man was an informer.

After a five-hour search , gardaí found John Corcoran's body in a green sleeping-bag dumped beside old lorry tyres and blackbags on the roadside. The body was lying on its right side . The feet were wrapped in black plastic refuse sacks , and the left hand , wearing a rubber glove, was tucked behind his back. The right hand , also with a rubber glove, was pointing in the air . The head and shoulders were wrapped in black plastic bags. The post-mortem showed that a bullet, fired from a high-velocity weapon, had entered John Corcoran's head close to the left ear and had gone through the right side of his skull , breaking his jaw.......
(MORE LATER).



TRADE UNIONS AND THE HUNGER-STRIKE.......
From 'IRIS' magazine, November 1981.

In Ireland , local trades councils , which are an all pervasive force in the labour movement , have moved very strongly behind the prisoners.

Headed by the Dublin Council of Trade Unions - which was the moving force in the massive campaign in recent years against the South's inequitable tax system - the following trades councils have carried sympathetic motions on the prisoners' demands : Belfast, Derry, Dundalk, Drogheda, Waterford , Navan (Meath), Longford, Carrick-on-Suir, Galway and Sligo.

Some well known groups of workers who had given consistent support are the 3,000 workers in Waterford Glass and the De Lorean car workers in West Belfast. Combined with the formal annual conference support of the above-mentioned unions, the support from the trades councils means that the vast majority of trade union members in Ireland - approximately 80% - through their affiliated organisations support the prisoners demands. This is further proven by government-conducted polls which showed that 68% (December 1980) of those polled thought that the British should concede the five demands. This would naturally be higher in the organised labour movement.......
(MORE LATER).

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