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Easter Rising: Hundreds take part in commemoration in Ardoyne

Easter Rising commemoration in the New Lodge area of north Belfast  
Easter Rising commemoration in the New Lodge area of north Belfast   Easter Rising commemoration in the New Lodge area of north Belfast  

REPUBLICANS gathered in Ardoyne on Tuesday for the second of two north Belfast Easter Rising commemorations.

Hundreds of people turned out for the event, which included a parade through the area and speeches.

A similar commemoration to mark the centenary of the 1916 Rising was held in the New Lodge area on Monday.

Sinn Féin assembly member Gerry Kelly told Tuesday's event in Ardoyne that "Irish politics is undergoing its biggest shake-up since partition".

"We are at the core of that change," he said.

"There is no miracle in a United Ireland. We have to prepare for it and that's exactly what we have been doing.

"We are in power in the assembly in the north and we are the main opposition and only credible alternative to the present failed government in the south.

"Sinn Féin's vision, of a genuine republic governed in the interests of all its citizens, is shared by a fast-growing number of people."

:: Thomas Ashe Mellon, who spoke at the Easter Monday commemoration at Derry City Cemetery, has said the colour party pictured on Page 3 on Monday was not from the 32 County Sovereignty Movement.