Nollaig shona daoibh go léir

On behalf of everyone at An Phoblacht, may we take this opportunity to wish our readers and sellers a very Merry Christmas and extend best wishes for 2005.

This year was a difficult one for the paper financially, a result of a number of factors that had seen the paper underutilised as a tool of struggle. But a tremendous amount of work has been done in recent months to reverse that situation, the Sinn Féin organisation has rowed in behind us with a vengeance, and the future is looking bright.

We ask our supporters to keep up the effort to get the uncensored news read as widely as possible in the coming year.

We also encourage republicans to make the paper their own. Contributions for our pages are appreciated and we are always on the lookout for talented writers.

Next year marks the 100th anniversary of Sinn Féin, and a wide range of events is being organised to celebrate a century of struggle.

As part of our contribution, An Phoblacht will be re-launched during the year, giving fresh impetus to the weekly voice of Irish republican news, comment and debate, in print and on the web.

We will also be sponsoring a lecture series examining various aspects of the past 100 years of Sinn Féin and the republican struggle in general.

This anniversary will lead in to the 25th anniversary commemoration of the 1981 Hunger Strike in 2006.

An Phoblacht, written by republicans for republicans, will cover all these events and more.

More than ever, it is vital that we have our own forum to appropriately mark those events relevant to republicans. Our weekly newspaper, unique in these islands, is that forum and we thank all those associated with An Phoblacht for their continued support and commitment.