Toireasa Ferris pays tribute to Kilmichael heroes

Toireasa Ferris and Chair of the commemoration committee, Conchúr Ó Ceallacháin

OVER a thousand people gathered on 25 November at the annual Kilmichael commemoration in West Cork to hear Sinn Féin Councillor Toireasa Ferris pay tribute to the Tan War heroes.
Con O’Callaghan, Chair of the Kilmichael/Crossbarry Committee, opened proceedings by outlining the events of that day, when the West Cork Flying Column, led by Tom Barry, ambushed and killed 18 Auxiliaries in one of the crucial battles of the Tan War.
He continued by saying it was more fitting for Irish men and women to honour men like the Volunteers of Kilmichael than to gather at war memorials to the British Army which tried to crush them. He lambasted the Fianna Fáil Mayor of Cork, Donal Counihan, who recently wore a poppy to a Royal British Legion ceremony in the city.
Con then introduced the main speaker, Sinn Féin Councillor Toireasa Ferris, who said:
“There are forty shades of green here today. But none of them believes the men of Kilmichael died for a 26-County Ireland.”
She continued by tracing the strong and enduring republican tradition in Cork.
“From the exploits of the Cork IRA during the Tan War, to the Cork contingent in the Border Campaign of the 1950s, to Volunteers like Tony Ahern and Dermot Crowley who died on active service in the Six Counties during the 1970s, Cork has always stood in the front line of the struggle for Irish freedom. Diarmuid O’Neill, the last Volunteer to die on active service in the most recent phase of struggle, was proud of his family roots in Cork.”
Pointing out the discrepancy between the idealism of those who fought during the Tan War and the cynicism of some who would claim to be their successors, she continued:
“The men who fought at Kilmichael fought for the Republic proclaimed in 1916, with its promise to cherish all the children of the nation equally. If they were here today, they would not allow Irish women suffering from cancer to become the victims of a two-tier health system. They would not tolerate a situation where something as basic as the right to healthcare is being turned into a commodity to be sold for profit.”
Afterwards, Seán Kelleher, Secretary of the Kilmichael Crossbarry Committee, proposed a vote of thanks to the speaker. Proceedings closed with a rendition of Amhráin na bFhiann by the Bandon Pipe band.