Torchlight vigil held for victims of state violence

Ógra Shinn Féin in Strabane organised a successful torchlight vigil in the head of the town area on Saturday night (28th February). Upwards of 50 local people gathered at the Breslin/Devine monument in Fountain Street, and symbolically lit torches in memory of those killed as a result of British state-sponsored violence.

The vigil was held as part of a weekend of events organised by the Strabane Memorial Flute Band to mark the 24th anniversary of the killing of three local republicans by the British SAS in a notorious shoot-to-kill ambush.

Speaking at Saturday night’s vigil, chairperson of the Tobias Molloy Ógra Shinn Féin cumann Seán Mac Giolla Easpaig said;

“We are proud to see so many local people turn out, despite the bad weather to support tonight’s event. It is particularly poignant that we gather at this monument to volunteers Charles Breslin, and brothers Michael and David Devine, 24 years after their brutal murder by undercover British agents.”

“Tonight the people of Strabane have demonstrated that the demand for truth and justice regarding political assassinations carried out by the British state will not go away, and that any attempt to cover up or conceal the role played by Britain as an active protagonist in the conflict here, will be met with strong resistance.”

“Ógra Shinn Féin salutes the resilience and determination of the families of those murdered by British forces and their proxy agents through repressive policies such as collusion or shoot-to-kill. We vow to continue campaigning on this issue until truth and justice prevails”.