20 October 2005 Edition

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An Cumann Cabhrach

THE REPUBLICAN AID COMMITTEE - (For the Relief of Republican Prisoners and their Dependents)

An Cumann Cabhrach, the aid committee for the relief of republican prisoners and their families, was recently rejuvenated by the election of a new Officer Board and Honoury Vice President, Annie Cahill, wife of the late Joe Cahill. Joe played a pivotal role in An Cumann Cabhrach over the years and the Central Committee is delighted to still have the Cahill name associated with the organisation.

An Cumann Cabhrach was founded in 1953, with its first convention held in Liberty Hall, Dublin in 1975. Over the past three-and-a-half decades of armed conflict in the North, thousands of people were incarcerated and An Cumann Cabhrach has raised funds and looked after the welfare of republican prisoners and their families throughout Ireland.

With the emergence and development of the Peace Process, kick started and sustained by IRA initiatives, the situation in relation to political prisoners changed dramatically. Some prisoners however are still serving sentences and it is essential their welfare and that of their dependents is catered for. The work of An Cumann Cabhrach is not over.

Another important aspect to the work of the organisation is the financial assistance it provides to the widows and children of Ireland's patriot dead.

There are some 300 names on the Republican Roll of Honour. Republicans, young, old, men and women who gave their lives for Irish freedom. Some were married and left partners and children behind. Financial aid for is an ongoing requirement for the widows of republicans who died in the course of the freedom struggle, and for the number of republican prisoners we still assist today.

An Cumann Cabhrach could not have survived as a prisoners' aid organisation without the generosity of republicans over the past 30 years. It still has a job to do, but without financial assistance it cannot carry on. An Cumann Cabhrach is appealing to republicans to give generously as they always have.

An Cumann Cabhrach

Donations can be sent to

Annie Cahill, c/o PO Box, 10016, Dublin 14 or

AIB Bank Phibsborough, Dublin 7. Account number: 08035039


An Phoblacht
44 Parnell Sq.
Dublin 1
Ireland