Northern Ireland

Easter commemorations held across the north

John Finucane pictured in north Belfast yesterday with former Sinn Féin minister Carál Ní Chuilín. Picture by Hugh
John Finucane pictured in north Belfast yesterday with former Sinn Féin minister Carál Ní Chuilín. Picture by Hugh John Finucane pictured in north Belfast yesterday with former Sinn Féin minister Carál Ní Chuilín. Picture by Hugh

EASTER commemorations marking the 102nd anniversary of the 1916 rising have continued across Northern Ireland this week.

Hundreds of people took part in an annual parade around Ardoyne in north Belfast yesterday.

A commemoration held later in the area was addressed by former Sinn Féin Westminster candidate John Finucane.

During his speech he said “the orange state is gone, and will never return”.

“The perpetual unionist majority in the north has ended, and ended for good,” he said.

“This did not just happen, for this was a direct result of the sacrifice, resilience, leadership and activism of republicans everywhere, and embodied by this very community I am proud to stand with today.

“A new Ireland is emerging, and requires to be shaped.”

He also said his party wants to see a restoration of the political institutions.

“We want to see the institutions up and running, but unless they deliver for everyone here then we will continue to stand strong and fight for equality and fight for rights of everyone – be they our LGBT community, Gaelgori, or families fighting for truth,” he said.

“These challenges are great, but then so are we. I don’t need to tell this community about perseverance and fighting for what’s right, and we need that spirit and that activism now as much as ever.”

The Tyrone National Graves Annual Commemoration took place in Carrickmore on Easter Monday. Picture by Mark Winter.
The Tyrone National Graves Annual Commemoration took place in Carrickmore on Easter Monday. Picture by Mark Winter. The Tyrone National Graves Annual Commemoration took place in Carrickmore on Easter Monday. Picture by Mark Winter.

Elsewhere, several hundred people attended an Easter Monday commemoration in Carrickmore, Co Tyrone.

The annual event, organised by the Tyrone National Graves Association (TNGA), was chaired by Eamon Hanna.

After a parade through Co Tyrone town those taking part made their way to a local garden of remembrance.

There relatives of some of some of those being remembered took part in a short ceremony including Siobhan O’Donnell, whose father, IRA member Paddy Kelly, was killed at Loughgall in 1987 and Peter McCaughey, whose brother Martin, also a member of the IRA, was killed in 1990.

Later chairman of the TNGA, an independent body that tends to the graves of dead republicans in Tyrone, Brian Cawley addressed those present.

“It is great to see large crowds this year again in Carrickmore at our annual county commemoration,” he said.

“The local commemorations were also well supported.

“This year marks the 102nd anniversary of the Easter Rising and it is important we remember all those, throughout the generations, who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.”

Ahead of Easter Sunday the TNGA also replaced a plaque which had been stolen from the republican plot in Edendork, near Dungannon, in Co Tyrone, earlier this year.

The original memorial stone was placed at the grave by the family of Paddy Kelly.

Plaque dedicated to Paddy Kelly
Plaque dedicated to Paddy Kelly Plaque dedicated to Paddy Kelly

Meanwhile, unionists have complained about an increase in the number of tricolours put up to mark the rising’s anniversary in Co Fermanagh.

MLA Rosemary Barton said “this is obviously an act of provocation towards the unionist communities” and “negates any argument from republicans about respect”.