2014 Wolfe Tone commemoration – 'We want to change Ireland'

THOUSANDS of republicans from all across Ireland took part in the annual Wolfe Tone commemoration at Bodenstown, County Kildare on Sunday.

Responding to claims by Fianna Fáil that Sinn Féin would 'hijack' the 100th anniversary commemoration for the 1916 Rising, the main speaker Gerry Adams TD said:

"Let me be clear, Sinn Féin won’t take lectures on 1916 from those revisionists and other slibhiní who abandoned its ideals many decades ago and who sought to prevent its commemoration."

Adams was critical of the failure of unionists to find a way forward on the issues of parades, flags and emblems, and the past:

"Both the DUP and UUP signed up to the St Andrews and Hillsborough Agreements but are now being challenged by those on the more extreme right such as the TUV and UKIP.

"This is a consequence of the huge failure by the UUP and the DUP to face down these rejectionists in the same way as Sinn Féin has done with anti-Agreement elements on the fringes of republicanism."

Hitting our at the Labour Party's fixation with Sinn Féin, he said:

"Labour – God’s gift to Fine Gael – are so busy debating whether or not they would allow Sinn Féin be in government with them, that it hasn’t dawned on them that after the General Election there may not be enough Labour TDs to be in government with anyone!"

Finally, on the recent media questions on whether Sinn Féin would go into coalition Government with anyone, Adams told the crowd:

"Sinn Féin wants to be in government because we want to change Ireland for the better.

"We want to tackle disadvantage, unemployment and inequality and improve the quality of life and standards of living for people across Ireland – particularly those people who are today struggling under the burden of austerity."

He said the party wanted to deliver on key issues of housing, health and jobs. 

"We want to end partition," he added.

"But Sinn Féin will not do is what the Labour Party has done – we will not give cover to the agenda of conservative parties, repeating again the failed political history of this State over the past 80 years."

• For more coverage and photos from Bodenstown, see the July edition of An Phoblacht