Memory is an act of resistance

“The prospect of Irish unity is no longer a distant dream. It is an achievable objective. That did not happen by accident. It was built by generations of republicans who refused to surrender hope.” So said Martina Anderson, speaking at the 50th anniversary commemoration of Volunteer Patrick Cannon in Balgriffin Cemetery, Dublin, on 18 July. 

A new plaque commemorating Patrick was unveiled on his grave by his sister Margaret. From Co. Tyrone where Patrickand his comrade Peter McElchar died, came the Strabane Memorial Band who led the parade to the graveyard with the Dublin Republican colour party. 

We carry here the speech delivered by Martina Anderson.

We gather here today, 50 years after the deaths of IRA Volunteers Patrick Cannon and Peter McElchar, to honour their memory, to stand with their families, and to remember two young Irishmen whose commitment to Ireland brought them far from home and ultimately cost them their lives.

50 years is a long time. Generations have come and gone. Children have become parents. Parents have become grandparents. Ireland has changed in ways that Patrick and Peter could scarcely have imagined. But one thing has not changed. The desire of Irish republicans to see our country free, united and sovereign remains as strong today as it was then. 

Patrick Cannon was just 20 years old. Peter McElchar was only 19. When we speak those ages aloud, we remember not only the IRA Volunteers they became, but the young men they were. Sons. Brothers. Friends. Comrades. Young men with lives ahead of them. Young men who were deeply loved.

Patrick came from Edenmore, Raheny, on the northside of Dublin. Peter came from Ballybofey in Donegal. Neither was from Tyrone. Yet both understood a truth that has always been at the heart of Irish republicanism: an injustice against one part of Ireland is an injustice against all of Ireland.

When others turned away, Patrick and Peter stepped forward. Patrick joined the IRA's Dublin Brigade because he refused to accept the repression inflicted by the Orange state and the British government on the nationalist people of the Six Counties. He marched behind the coffins of Michael Gaughan and Frank Stagg because he understood that freedom has always demanded courage and sacrifice.

Patrick Cannon was more than an IRA Volunteer. He was a skilled worker. A proud trade unionist. A young man who loved motorbikes. A son who was cherished. And a brother who was loved beyond measure. And that is why today, before anything else, I speak directly to you, Patrick's family.

Your loss did not end on the 17th of July 1976. You carried it home with you. You carried it through every birthday, every Christmas, every anniversary and every day in between. We know that no words can fill the empty chair, or replace the son and brother who never came home. But know this. You loved Patrick. We in the republican movement loved Patrick too.

You have never forgotten him. Neither have we. Your grief was made even heavier by what followed.

At a time when your family should have been allowed to mourn in peace, members of the Garda Special Branch sought to deny Patrick even the dignity of his funeral. Patrick witnessed what the Garda Special Branch did at Frank Stagg’s funeral. You witnessed what they did at Patrick’s. They attempted to disrupt his final journey, assaulting mourners, including a pregnant woman.

That shameful conduct belongs to a dark chapter of this state's history. It should never be forgotten, and it should never be repeated.

Yet even intimidation could not silence remembrance. For 50 years republicans have returned here. Every year.  Without fail. To honour Patrick Cannon and Peter McElchar. Because memory is an act of resistance. And because republicans always honour our own.

At Patrick's graveside in 1976, Seán Keenan, himself a father who had lost a son in the struggle, described him as "a brave and great soldier who died fighting for the freedom of his country."

Those words still carry weight. Not because republicans glorify death - we do not. We honour Patrick and Peter because of how they lived. Because they believed Ireland should belong to all her people.

Because they believed every Irish citizen deserved equality, dignity and freedom.

Because they believed partition was wrong then, and remains wrong today.

50 years later, the conversation about Ireland's constitutional future is no longer confined to republican gatherings. It is taking place across this island and far beyond it. The demand for change is growing.

• Volunteer Patrick Cannon

The prospect of Irish unity is no longer a distant dream. It is an achievable objective. That did not happen by accident. It was built by generations of republicans who refused to surrender hope. Patrick Cannon and Peter McElchar were part of that generation. Their names are woven into that story. Their sacrifice forms part of the long road that has brought us to where we are today. We would not be as strong or as relevant without them. 

Our task now is to finish that journey.

To build a new Ireland founded on equality, reconciliation, social justice and respect for all who share this island. That is the greatest tribute we can offer Patrick and Peter.

And before I finish, I want to return once more to you Patrick's family. There is something you should always know.

As long as republicans gather, Patrick's name will be spoken. As long as the Tricolour flies, Patrick's sacrifice will be remembered. You will never forget him. Neither will we.

And when the day comes that none of us gathered here today are left to tell his story, others will walk in our footsteps.

Others will stand where we stand. Others will speak Patrick Cannon's name with pride. They will honour him. They will remember the part he played in Ireland's long struggle for freedom.

Because memory does not die. It is handed from one generation to the next. And mark my word. The day will come when this island is free. The day will come when Ireland is united. The day will come when our nation is one again.

And, when that day comes, Patrick Cannon and Peter McElchar will be remembered not simply as men who dreamed of that Ireland but as young Irish republicans, IRA Volunteers, who helped make it possible.