Dublin Ógra lead the way in Easter 1916 Commemorations

Over the last number of Days, Dublin Ógra Shinn Féin activists played a major part in organising the Easter Commemorations all over the county.

Dublin Ógra activists were central to the colour party, the flute band, stewarding, musicians, speakers and in selling booklets and collecting money.

Spokesperson for Dublin ÓSF Saoirse Ní Chonaraín, deliviered the following speech to an applauding crowd;

"Ógra would like to commend those who have turned out today to remember the patriots of Easter week. We are not just here to remember, but to re- dedicate ourselves to the cause for which these brave men and women sacrificed so much for, a 32 County Socialist Republic.

It is the duty of Dublin Ógra and all of us present to actively campaign for republican goals. We must be to the fore in campaigning to protect the rights of our people and to be actively involved in undermining the consensus of the right, keeping in mind our ultimate objective. Like the leaders of 1916, we reject not just British rule in Ireland but the capitalist system as represented by today’s government of Fine Gael and regrettably Labour.

We totally reject the use of the nation's wealth to pay of the private banking debts and prop up European capitalism while the people of Ireland endure cut after cut.

We completely oppose the state visit of the queen of England planned for next month. Not simply in opposition to her unapologetic stance on Britain’s bloody history in Ireland and throughout the world, but also, the obscenity represented by the waste of millions of euro on her visit, while countless people go without jobs, lose their homes and are forced to go without essential services in this city everyday. This represents everything we are against.

Over 800 years, movements of their time campaigned in their own way trying to achieve the goal of Irish freedom. We will be part of that campaign and we believe that we will be part of a generation of people that will win Irish freedom.

This year we also remember the 30th anniversary of the 1981 hunger strikers. We must think of these ten brave men as an inspiration. As in the words of Bobby Sands;

"They have nothing in their whole imperial arsenal that can break the spirit of one Irishman who does not want to be broken."

This is what separates us from those who seek personal gain. We will never forget the sacrifices made by those gone before us, and can not let them be in vain.

We stand together today closer to the achievement of our aims than any generation in almost a century. We must take this opportunity and allow our page to be written in history, as a time when we lived out our patriots dreams and became patriots ourselves. The struggle continues. Beir bua."

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