Ba mhaith liom Buíochas a ghabháil le gach duine as teacht anseo inniu. Cuimhnímid inniu ar Phoblachtánaigh a fuair bás i nEiri amach na Casca 1916. Thug siad muisneach agus dóchas dúinn leanúint ar aghaidh leis an troid ar son Saoirse na h Éireann.
 
I would like to thank everyone for coming here today. Today we remember the Republicans that died in the 1916 Easter rising. They gave us the courage and the hope to continue the fight for Irish Freedom.
 
On the 109th anniversary of the Easter Rising Republicans look back and assess where Ireland is today. The Ireland of today did not come from the Easter Rising of 1916. It arose from the defeat of the independence movement of 1916 to 1923 when the British government divided our country and forced the present set-up on the Irish people. On 24thApril 1916, Republicans from all corners of the country seized important locations in Dublin. One being the GPO where we are today. Around 2,500 turned up which consisted of the Irish Volunteers, the Hibernian rifles, The Irish Citizen army, Cumann na mBan and na Fianna Eireann. The rising lasted a total of five days. The rebels awaited a large shipment of arms on 22nd of April 1916, unfortunately the German arms shipment “The Aud” was intercepted by the British and taken to Cork Harbour. The shipment consisted of 20,000 rifles and one million rounds of ammunition and explosives.
 
The Proclamation of the Irish Republic was read by Padraig Pearse on the steps of the GPO at 12:45pm Easter Monday,April 24, 1916. The proclamation was a symbolic act of Declaring Irelands independence and then establishing the Provisional Government. The Proclamation declared Irelands sovereignty and independence and of course the rights of the Irish People.
 
The rising of 1916 was not successful, but it did pave the way for the war of independence. The Rebels were unpopular at first but when the executions took place the public became supportive and sympathetic to the Republican movement.
The executions were very rapid, the men faced death by firing squad including the 7 signatories. James Connelly was so badly wounded that they strapped him to a chair and unleashed their British led until he was dead.  
 
The Free State has no right to commemorate the men and women of 1916; the Free State army adopted the same death by firing squad which they learnt from the Brits. The signatories of 1916 would not stand with the free state and their betrayal to the Irish Nation.  
 
We are proud of the Irish struggle 1916-23. Free State parties, including the Provisionals, continue to talk about a united Ireland in the context of either a 32-County Free State or even joint sovereignty. This is completely unacceptable to Republicans who have continued the revolutionary programme of the men and women of 1916. The struggle was and is for a 32-County federal democratic socialist republic where the people are the arbiters of their own fate.
 
 
Sinn Féin Poblachtach’s analysis – based on the lesson of Irish history – of the Irish national struggle continues to be that while Britain remains in Ireland there will be men and women who will follow in the footsteps of those who fought at Easter 1916 and in the years following. To fight for the freedom of one’s country will never be a crime but to free state forces it seems to be the biggest crime of all.
  
In the Six Counties nothing changes: Britain’s latest blueprint for control in Ireland with the active participation of the Provisionals. Even with all the betrayals of the last many years it is stomach-churning to see the “So-called First Minister” sit down with the King of England, the commander-in-chief of the para regiment. In the 26 Counties former comrades have become more and more embroiled in constitutional politics. Our message remains the same – a new Ireland will never emerge from either Stormont or Leinster House. I’ll quote Ruairí Ó Brádaigh on this “how do you expect to build a democratic socialist republic out of Leinster House? How can serious social change come out of Leinster House? How can the fundamental change in property relations come out of Leinster house? No way can it do that”. And I couldn’t agree more with Ruairí Ó Brádaigh. He knew what was around the corner.
 
Irish Republicans continue to be subjected to State repression north and south of Britain’s Border. Raids and harassment continue, and Republicans must refuse to be intimidated. Draconian laws continue to be used against Republicans. Ex-POWs are subjected to rules and regulations following the end of their sentences which interferes with their freedom to live their lives.
 
Sinn Féin Poblachtach calls for the complete withdrawal of the British government and all its apparatus from Ireland and for the people of Ireland, acting as a unit, to be allowed to decide the future of the country. We believe in a 32-county federal democratic socialist republic as proclaimed in 1916.
 
Our culture and civilisation, including the Irish language, the oldest vernacular language in Europe, which we inherit from those who went before us, must be accessible to all people. The threat to our separate identity must be opposed so that we survive as a distinct people to co-operate with other former colonised nations and advance the cause of humankind in general. However, Republicans must oppose the attempts by far-right elements to blame the housing and health problems in the 26-County State on refugees and asylum seekers. Responsibility lies solely on the Free State Administration, not on people fleeing from war and famine throughout the world. The Far-right movement are quick to give out and protest about immigrants coming into the country, but they don’t seem to care for the foreign oppressors occupying our 6 counties but instead stand hand in hand with loyalists waving butchers aprons. To put a Tricolour and a Butcher’s Apron together should be a crime.
 
Tá an Ghaeilge comh tábhacht agus ba chor go mbeidh súim ag gach éinne an Gaeilge a labhairt. Muna bhfuil tu líofa ach fiú amháin cúpla focal a rá gach lá lena cheile. I cannot stress to you how important it is for us all to speak our native tongue. This is a language that the British took away from us.  I’ll quote Pádraig Pearse in saying Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam. A country without a language is a country without a soul.
 
 
The way forward for Ireland is through the ÉIRE NUA and SAOL NUA programmes for a New Ireland with separation of church and state and a pluralist society. A new federation of the four provinces including a nine-county Ulster would bring power nearer the people, help correct East-West economic imbalance and provide a solution to the conflict in the Six Counties.
 
On the international front we stand with the Palestinian people who are being subjected to genocide and famine by the Zionist state of Israel. The Palestinian people continue to face oppression from the Israelis and I would urge people to attend their local Palestine rallies and functions and support the Palestinian people in whatever way possible.
The use of landing and refuelling facilities at Shannon Airport to US warplanes continues and is of great concern to us as is the plan to abandon neutrality against the wishes of the Irish people. Neutrality must be defended. We must recognise and oppose imperialism in all its forms.

I just want to read the Mise Éire poem by Padraig Pearse;

Mise Éire:
Sine mé ná an Chailleach Bhéarra
Mór mo ghlóir:
Mé a rug Cú Chulainn cróga.
Mór mo náir:
Mo chlann féin a dhíol a máthair.
Mór mo phian:
Bithnaimhde do mo shíorchiapadh.

Mór mo bhrón:
D’éag a dream inar chuireas dóchas.

Mise Éire:
Uaigní mé ná an Chailleach Bhéarra.

How prophetic the words of Pearse;

Mór mo náir:
Mo chlann féin a dhíol a máthair.

Great my shame my own children who sold their mother.

How Prophetic.

Arís, Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil le gach duine as teacht inniu agus Beannachtaí na Cásca oraibh go leir. Caith lílle ní amháin ag am Cáisc. 

I will finish up today with this last piece. Time may have moved on but the fight for Irish freedom has not changed. It is still the same fight and the same goal to totally remove British occupation from our country. The same fight as 1798, 1916, and 2025. I would like to urge people to join the ranks of the Republican movement and join Sinn Féin Poblachtach and do your part in bringing about Irish Freedom.

Tiocfaidh ár lá agus an Phoblacht Abú.

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