18 October 2007 Edition
Belfast Republican Graves remembered in commemorative booklet
THE sterling work of the National Graves Association has been marked in a pamphlet launched in Belfast on Tuesday, 30 July.
The pamphlet launch, which took place in the Felons Club, was attended by members of the committee and was addressed by former POW Paddy McCotter.
The colourful publication outlines the historical work of the Graves Association that honours those brave republican fighters who have given their lives in the struggle for national liberation by ensuring that their burial places are maintained.
Included in the pamphlet are the locations of the many republican graves in Milltown Cemetery.
Most visitors to Milltown will assume that the New Republican Plot in the graveyard, which was opened in 1972 and which holds the graves of 77 IRA Volunteers, is the only place where republican activists are buried.
However there is also the County Antrim Memorial that was dedicated in 1966 and holds the remains of 34 Volunteers who died on active service during the 1960s and early 1970s.
Alongside the County Antrim Memorial is the Harbinson Plot that commemorates the first martyr of the Fenian era.
William Harbinson died on 9 September 1867 while interned in Belfast Prison. A Celtic Cross was erected in his memory in 1912 and in the adjoining plot lies the remains of Volunteers Joe McKelvey, Sean McCartney, Terence Perry, Sean Gaffney and Seamus Burns.
Scattered around Milltown are the graves of other republicans who were interred in family plots. These graves are marked in the ‘Graves’ pamphlet.
Speaking at the launch Association member Paddy McCotter welcomed the publication and praised the work of the National Graves Association in its, “tireless work to tend and maintain the graves of our patriot dead. Our Volunteers gave their all in the struggle for national liberation and it is our responsibility to ensure that not only their graves but their memory and sacrifice is also remembered”.
The pamphlet launch, which took place in the Felons Club, was attended by members of the committee and was addressed by former POW Paddy McCotter.
The colourful publication outlines the historical work of the Graves Association that honours those brave republican fighters who have given their lives in the struggle for national liberation by ensuring that their burial places are maintained.
Included in the pamphlet are the locations of the many republican graves in Milltown Cemetery.
Most visitors to Milltown will assume that the New Republican Plot in the graveyard, which was opened in 1972 and which holds the graves of 77 IRA Volunteers, is the only place where republican activists are buried.
However there is also the County Antrim Memorial that was dedicated in 1966 and holds the remains of 34 Volunteers who died on active service during the 1960s and early 1970s.
Alongside the County Antrim Memorial is the Harbinson Plot that commemorates the first martyr of the Fenian era.
William Harbinson died on 9 September 1867 while interned in Belfast Prison. A Celtic Cross was erected in his memory in 1912 and in the adjoining plot lies the remains of Volunteers Joe McKelvey, Sean McCartney, Terence Perry, Sean Gaffney and Seamus Burns.
Scattered around Milltown are the graves of other republicans who were interred in family plots. These graves are marked in the ‘Graves’ pamphlet.
Speaking at the launch Association member Paddy McCotter welcomed the publication and praised the work of the National Graves Association in its, “tireless work to tend and maintain the graves of our patriot dead. Our Volunteers gave their all in the struggle for national liberation and it is our responsibility to ensure that not only their graves but their memory and sacrifice is also remembered”.