Seán Mac Diarmada commemoration told a United Ireland within reach

A large crowd turned out in beautiful sunny weather in Kiltyclogher for the 109th anniversary of Seán MacDiarmada on Sunday, 11th May.

The commemoration was preceded by a parade from Sraduffy Cross involving a Colour party, the Cavan Battalion reenactors, and the Strabane Martyrs Band. 

The event, which involved the niece and grandniece of Seán Mac Diarmada - Maura  and Rosa Mylonas, also saw the attendance of Sinn Féin Councillors and representatives from Leitrim, Sligo, Cavan, Fermanagh and Donegal including former Sligo/Leitrim TD Michael Colreavy.

• Maura and Rosa Mylonas  - Grandniece  and Great Grandniece of Seán MacDiarmada lay wreaths at his monument.

Following the laying of wreaths at the Mac Diarmada monument, the main address was delivered by Sinn Féin Fermanagh MLA Jemma Dolan. She said:

A chairde agus a chlann mhór poblachtach,

It is a deep honour to speak here today, under the watchful eye of Seán MacDiarmada, to mark his life and legacy and to pledge our ongoing commitment to the ideals for which he paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Seán Mac Diarmada is one of the great architects of the Irish Republic and a hero whose name echoes through every generation of our struggle.

As I have said, we gather today not merely in remembrance, but in commitment.

In commitment to the cause for which Mac Diarmada and his comrades gave everything - the cause of Irish freedom, unity, and sovereignty.

• From left: Maura and Rosa Mylonas and former Sinn Féin TD for Sligo/Leitrim, Michael Colreavy.

We remember Seán Mac Diarmada because he dared to dream of a new Ireland - and because he had the courage to act on that dream.

Seán was a revolutionary in the truest sense. A political organiser. A soldier. A leader. And ultimately, a martyr for the Irish Republic proclaimed on Easter Monday 1916.

But the story of the Irish struggle did not end in Kilmainham Jail. It did not end in 1921. And it certainly did not end in the failure that is partition.

The flame lit by Mac Diarmada burned through every generation of Irish republicanism, including through the long and bitter years of conflict in the North.

And let me say this with pride and with clarity: the men and women who fought, struggled, and died for Irish freedom between 1969 and 1998 were no different in courage, in purpose, or in legitimacy than those who rose in 1916 or who fought in the Tan War.

They were Irish republicans. They were freedom fighters. And we will honour them always.

We will speak their names with pride. We will carry their memory in our hearts and our actions. 

Because without their sacrifice, we would not be where we are today - on the cusp of a new and united Ireland.

• Led by a republican colour party, the parade enters the village of Kiltyclogher

Many of them were young. Some were barely adults. Some came from farms, some from city streets. But all of them believed that Ireland should be free.

They stood against British military occupation, against injustice, and against a system that tried to criminalise not only them, but the very idea of resistance.

And they did not stand alone. Leitrim - this quiet, proud, resilient county - played its part. Let no one ever say that the struggle was confined to the Six Counties. Because from the hills and fields of Leitrim, people stood firm.

Leitrim people opened their homes, offered shelter, sustenance and support to those involved in resistance. They stood shoulder to shoulder with their neighbours across the border - in my own county of Fermanagh - through the hardest of times.

When British forces saturated the border, Leitrim republicans kept the struggle alive. When others faltered, Leitrim remained steadfast.

And so today, we remember not only the martyr from Kiltyclogher, but the countless patriots who followed in his footsteps.

• The Cavan Battalion Reenactors on the parade

On this very day, the anniversary of Seán MacDiarmada’s execution on 12th May 1916, the brave Francis Hughes paid the ultimate sacrifice for freedom when he died on hunger strike on 12th May 1981.

Let no one rewrite the story of such patriots. Let no one diminish their courage.

It is because of their sacrifice that the British government, the unionist establishment and indeed the political establishment in this state - is being forced to confront the inevitable: that partition has failed, and its days are numbered.

We are now in a time of great opportunity. The winds of change are blowing through Ireland. The conversations about unity are growing. The demographic and political shifts in the North are undeniable. And across the South, more and more people are recognising that the future of this island lies in unity - not just in territory, but in community, in the economy, and in equality of citizenship.

The decade ahead will be decisive. Here in north Leitrim, as elsewhere, the next four years in particular will be crucial. We need to build on the foundations laid by Michael Colreavy; to build on the impressive local election result for Pádraig Fallon and Michelle Shyabo, so that next time we elect both of them! 

I want to commend my friends and comrades from this area - led by your local Sinn Féin Chairperson Helga Keogh - for their invaluable assistance in Fermanagh during recent election campaigns. That’s local leadership in action!

I want to send our solidarity today to Cllr Michael McMahon and his family in Bundoran. 

Mickey’s house was the target of an unwarranted protest which was totally unjustified.

• Members of the Patsy Kelly Campaign for Truth & Justice attended the commemoration. The campaign is seeking the truth behind the murder of the Omagh District councillor, and the suspected involvement of the UDR in his death

Irish republicans have, over the years, withstood attacks from the British army, unionist paramilitaries and Free State forces. We certainly won’t be intimidated by those who have never lifted a finger for this country.

Mickey McMahon has more patriotism in his little finger than those who attempted to intimidate him and his family.

Sinn Féin is the vehicle to achieve our goals. We need to be cohesive, determined, all pointed in the one direction. We need to be rooted, relevant and republican in all we do.

The time ahead will require all of us to be organisers, educators, and builders. That is the legacy of Seán Mac Diarmada, and of every generation since who took up the mantle of Irish republicanism.

Because remembrance in our tradition is not passive. It is active. It is political. It is about vision and continuity. We honour the past by building the future.

And so, we say this today, with firm hearts and unbreakable resolve:

We will remember our dead. We will stand by the living.

And we will finish the work that Seán Mac Diarmada began.

Not just for those who gave their lives, but for the generations yet to come.

A United Ireland is not a dream - it is within reach. And we, as Irish republicans, are the generation who will deliver it.

Let us honour the sacrifice of all who came before us - not with silence, but with action. Not with mourning, but with movement. Not with fear, but with the fire of hope and determination.

Because the cause of Irish freedom is alive in 2025 and we will see this through to a successful outcome - a United Ireland in our time, and a republic based on equality and social justice.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh. Beir bua. Tiocfaidh ár lá.

• Jemma Dolan with Bundoran Sinn Féin Councillor Michael McMahon