Donegal republicans launch the Easter Lily
SINN FEIN President Gerry Adams has been confirmed as the keynote speaker at the 90th anniversary of the Drumboe Martyrs this Easter.
The announcement was made at the launch of the Easter Lily which was attended by more than 100 Donegal republicans and which was addressed by prominent Belfast Republican Bobby Storey who spoke of the Drumboe Martyrs and the need to “build on their legacy and finally achieve a united and fully independent Ireland.”
On the morning of 14 March 1923, some six weeks before the end of the Civil War, Anti-Treaty IRA members Charlie Daly (26), Sean Larkin (26), Dan Enright (23) and Tim O’Sullivan (23), were marched from their cell at Drumboe Castle to an improvised firing range in the woods at Drumboe where they were shot.
Commenting after the launch, Drumboe Commemoration Committee spokesperson Hughie Doherty said: “I want to commend the work that the Drumboe Commemoration Committee carries out; not just at Easter, but throughout the year, in maintaining the graves and therefore preserving the memory of our Patriot Dead. It is an invaluable and tremendous piece of work which we must all continue to support.
“That of course is where the Easter Lily itself comes in. It is a symbol that is so simple, yet so significant. A symbol used for so long now but one which endures; a symbol, while only worn at this time of year, always reminds us who we are, where we have come from and what we must do to achieve our ultimate Republican objectives.
“Each year we come together to launch this campaign, encouraging people to honour Ireland’s dead and wear their Easter Lily with pride. Easter is a time of year when we rightly gather at roadsides, on country lanes, and in towns and villages across Donegal to remember our Patriot Dead.
“But most of all it is a time when we recommit ourselves to the principles we adhere to – the very core message of Irish Republicanism – a time when we rededicate ourselves to the pursuance of the cause for which so many Irish men and women gave their lives.
“So I would encourage people to wear an Easter Lily, encourage others to do likewise; to support the work of the National Graves Association and to attend commemorative events in your area and across Donegal during the Easter period.
“This is a time when we as Republicans must unashamedly remember our families, friends and comrades and a time when we must again set our shoulders to the wheel and I am confident that with the men and women who gave all as our continued source of inspiration, we will soon bring about the Ireland for which they died.”
Mr Adams will speak at the commemoration on Easter Sunday at 3pm.
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