REPUBLICANS in Kerry and throughout Ireland and abroad were saddened to hear of the death on February 7 of Maurice Dowling, of Tralee, Co Kerry.
Maurice was born in November 1944, a few weeks before the execution of Charlie Kerins by the Free State. He was born into a Republican household; his father Batt, a lifelong Republican, was interned for three years in the 1920s and again imprisoned in the 1970s. When the Free State landed in Fenit and approached Tralee town, Batt was among the Republican Volunteers who fought a fierce battle at Pembroke Street.
Maurice joined the Republican Movement at a young age and remained faithful to the 32-County Republic all his life. John Joe Rice, John Joe Sheehy, Mick Lynch, Seán Ryan, Liam Cotter, Willie Walsh and others were the Republican stalwarts who kept the flame alive and were a great inspiration to Maurice.
He worked tirelessly for all branches of the Movement all his lifetime and was involved in the upkeep of Republican Plots; the Ballyseedy Memorial which commemorates the spot where Free Staters killed eight Republican Volunteers by tying them to a mine; the White Crosses which mark the places in Kerry where the Free State murdered Republicans during the Civil War; the Charlie Kerins Monument; the Ballymullen Martyrs, to name but a few.
During the H-Block Hunger Strike Maurice was instrumental in organising collections for the POWs throughout north and mid-Kerry. He and other Kerry Republicans were among the first to pinpoint the informer O’Callaghan for what he was and did their best to pass their suspicions on to members of the then leadership but to no avail.
When the split came in 1986, Maurice rejected former comrades who took the constitutional path and sold out the cause of the 32-County Republic. He was to the fore in organising Republican Sinn Féin in Tralee and environs along with the late Liam Cotter, ex-POW Matt Leen and others.
All Republican newspapers, Easter Lilies and Republican funerals were handled by Maurice. He was treasurer of Kerry Comhairle Ceantair since 1982 and was a Trustee of the Ballyseedy Memorial.
Maurice was a most deserving Honoree for the CABHAIR Testimonial in 2019.
Down through the years Maurice was involved in every event held by the Republican Movement in Tralee; organising the sale of Easter Lilies each year as well as the Easter commemoration; fund-raising for the POWs; selling and organising sales of SAOIRSE; organising the annual Charlie Kerins commemoration each year. He never missed attending the CABHAIR Testimonial, Bodenstown or the Ard-Fheis.
He was the go-to person in Tralee when it came to Sinn Féin Poblachtach. He will be very deeply missed by his comrades and friends throughout Ireland.
Sinn Féin Poblachtach extends deepest sympathy to Maurice’s sister Nora, nephew Conor, Barry, nieces Gina, Caroline, Laoise, Gráinne, Niamh, brother-in-law Vincent, sister-in-law Rose and to his comrades and friends.
Go raibh suaimhneas síoraí dá anam uasail agus i measc laochra na bhFíníní go raibh sé.

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