A Letter from Ireland
a Chara,
This was my first Easter in Ireland in many years as I normally travel to commemorations in the States or Canada.
I am thankful for the work of organizers in Toronto, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Long Island, and Philadelphia who continue to remember the Irish Patriot dead and build a new and united Ireland.
I would also like to thank Daire Hughes MP, Louis O’Hara TD, Kathleen Funchion MEP, Cathal Mallaghan MP, and Linda Dillon MLA who all traveled from Ireland to demonstrate our appreciation for the work of activists and the importance of North America to our future.
The ability to travel and support these events is made possible by the donors to Friends of Sinn Féin. Thank you.
So back to Easter in Ireland.
Spring has sprung a leak at home. The weather has been rain, rain, and more rain. The one dry day was Easter Sunday. A blessing as I traveled to my hometown of Belfast for two commemorations.
The first one was in Riverdale, the neighborhood in which I grew up in West Belfast. It was a small community event that spanned generations of Irish Republicans. All were neighbors and families, some had lost years to jail, and all spent a lifetime struggling for Irish Unity. We remembered those who activists had died in the conflict and in later years. A new generation bore witness to a fitting tribute chaired by a local Sinn Féin councilor.
The main Republican commemoration took place later that day. It was an occasion to catch up with old friends and comrades. Thousands marched along the Falls Road to the Milltown Cemetery and the Republican plot. Many more lined the roadside to watch.
The oration was given by the Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty. A native Irish speaker from County Donegal, his lyrical lilt of Gaeilge resonated with the directness of his speech. Standing at the graveside of Bobby Sands and Mairead Farrell he paid tribute to their memory and all who gave their lives for Irish freedom. His address left no one with any doubts that building a new and united Ireland is achievable by this generation.
As I walked through the graveyard I was humbled by the quiet dignity of families carrying the portraits of loved ones lost in the conflict. Their young faces frozen in time while their contemporaries, grown old with decades lost to prison resolutely marched beside them.
We are at a time when no one should lose their lives or liberty. We now have a peaceful path to Irish unity. That is their greatest gift and one that has yet to be realized.
Have a great weekend.
Ciarán
Ciarán Quinn is the Sinn Féin Representative to North America. Each week he writes a letter from Ireland with news and analysis. It is featured in the weekly Friends of Sinn Féin USA Newsletter. Be sure you are subscribed to stay up to date.
