20 August 2009 Edition

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Mullingar comrades remembered

“Going back through the decades there is a strong tradition of republicanism in Mullingar and the surrounding area. Jim and Ita Dalton were an integral part of that tradition.” So said veteran republican Tommy McMahon as he addressed a large crowd at Walshestown Cemetery on August Bank Holiday Monday, where he unveiled a commemorative plaque to the ‘two unyielding republicans’.
Speaking of his first experience of republicanism in Mullingar, Tommy remembered, as a young man, being part of the guard of honour which escorted the bodies of IRA volunteers Peter Barnes and James McCormack to Ballyglass Cemetery for re-internment in July 1969. “Thousands gathered that day in Mullingar to pay their last farewell. I will never forget the reaction of the people of Mullingar as they broke into spontaneous applause as a mark of respect as the two coffins passed by.”
On his life-long friends and comrades he spoke of Jim and Ita Dalton’s absolute commitment to the cause of Irish freedom. “Both Jim and Ita came from Mullingar, Jim from Patrick Street and Ita from the Green Bridge. They married and reared a family of four boys and three girls.
From the early 1970’s their home in Mullingar was always open and welcoming to republicans from all over the country. They themselves were heavily involved right throughout the years. Jim, who passed away in 1998, was a gifted mechanic. He was very actively involved in the IRA supply lines ensuring that the Volunteers on the border, in Belfast and in Derry, had a ready supply of weapons and explosives to take the fight to the heart of the British establishment. He was instrumental in one of the most daring prison escapes in republican history, when in 1974 nineteen republicans broke out of Portlaoise Prison. Ita, who passed away last year, was a member of the Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle for many years and ran for election a number of times, missing out on a town council seat by only four votes on one occasion.”
In his closing remarks Tommy said, “The great crowd which is gathered here today is a testament to the lives of Jim and Ita – loving parents, lifelong republicans and community activists – who always cared for those less well off than themselves. I hope this commemorative plaque acts as a small reminder of how much you mean to us all.”

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