In a statement on April 22, 2025 a spokesperson for Comhairle Uladh (Ulster Executive), Sinn Féin Poblachtach said: “There has been hackneyed from the usual suspects over Republican Easter celebrations in the Occupied Six Counties.

“It’s an oversimplification to view Easter solely as a Christian festival or a time for Irish Republicanism. Having said that, this year’s events had been overshadowed by the loss of the worldly leader of the Catholic Church. Pope Francis (17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025).

“According to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Gavin Robinson the Pope seemed a more gentle, humble, engaging, caring individual. But somehow, the hackneyed response to the Pontiff’s death has missed its intended audience.

“It seems from media reports that the death of Pope Francis had been mocked by loyalists in Lisburn, a Co. Antrim town, just hours after the his death.

“In addition, it has also been noted that, the DUP leaders party colleagues were in attendance during the Apprentice Boys hatefest in Lisburn. Carla Lockhart and Paul Givan described the atmosphere as first class while Edwin Poots wrote of super crowds and a great atmosphere.

“Sinn Féin Poblachtach calls on the working class Protestant people to let loose the shackles that bound them to such haters. We encourage you to look beyond the British jackboot that holds your head in the mud.

“Easter is when Irish Republicans celebrate the Easter Rising which changed the history of Ireland and began an end to British rule. We can find a beginning surely within the words of one of the Father of Irish Republicanism, Wolfe Tone, in the urgent need to break the connection with England, ‘the never-failing source of all our political evils’.”

PRO
Comhairle Uladh (Ulster Executive),
Sinn Féin Poblachtach

CRÍOCH/ENDS.

Ranganna:[RSF News] Statements