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Memorial to 1916 leader to be unveiled in Co Tyrone

A statue dedicated to Easter Rising leader Thomas Clarke will be unveiled in Dungannon this weekend
A statue dedicated to Easter Rising leader Thomas Clarke will be unveiled in Dungannon this weekend A statue dedicated to Easter Rising leader Thomas Clarke will be unveiled in Dungannon this weekend

REPUBLICANS from across Ireland are expected to travel to Co Tyrone this weekend to mark the execution of Easter Rising leader Thomas Clarke.

A life size bronze statue of the Rising leader will be unveiled by the Thomas Clarke 1916 Society during a parade in his home of Dungannon town on Sunday.

One of the seven signatories of the proclamation, Tom Clarke is also credited with being one of the main organisers of the Rising which started 100 years ago last Sunday.

He was executed by the British Army on May 3, 1916.

Raised in Dungannon, the town’s GAA club is named after him.

He returned to Dungannon after his release from prison in 1898 where he served time for taking part in a bombing campaign in England.

In the decades after the Rising the Clarke family also maintained its connections with the town.

While a permanent home for the new statue has yet to be found it will be unveiled in the town’s Anne Street district, where the Clarke family lived.

Chairman of the Thomas Clarke Society Ruairí Monteith said the statue is a worthy tribute.

“The statue will be a magnificent tribute to Thomas Clarke,” he said.

“Republicans in Dungannon have working towards this over the last six years.”

Those taking part in Sunday’s parade and unveiling ceremony will assemble at Anne Street at 2pm.

A torchlight procession will also be held in Dungannon on the calendar anniversary of Mr Clarke's execution at 9.30pm next Tuesday.