Taoiseach answered as Tipp republicans honour Seán Treacy

Tipperary republicans honoured IRA freedom fighter Seán Treacy at his Kilfeacle graveside last weekend. In her speech, Dublin City Councillor Janice Boylan replied to Mícheál Martin’s most recent diatribes against Sinn Féin. 

Reminding the crowd that Martin had challenged the sincerity of Sinn Féin in supporting the community on the Garvaghy Road, Cllr Boylan said: 

“How dare he! We proudly represent that community, as we represent communities throughout the Six Counties. How many people do Mícheál Martin and his  party represent in the North? Zero. No-one. They haven’t got a single public representative north of the border. They don’t stand for election there and when some Fianna Fáil members wanted to organise in the North Mícheál Martin said ‘No!’” 

Cllr Boylan said she was especially honoured to be asked to speak because of the connection between Seán and the part of Dublin City from which she comes and which she represents on Dublin City Council: 

“It was not work or family that brought Seán to Dublin but the struggle for Irish  freedom to which he had dedicated his young life.

“Like many of that generation, Seán as a youth joined Conradh na Gaeilge, the Irish Republican Brotherhood and the Irish Volunteers in his native Tipperary. He was rounded up after the 1916 Rising and on release he threw himself into the national struggle without hesitation. Throughout 1919 and 1920 he was active and was a thorn in the side of the British regime.  

“In October 1920 Seán Treacy and Dan Breen came to Dublin to meet with the IRA’s GHQ. Their activity was centred in the north inner city which I am proud to represent. 

“In the newly published book ‘Kevin Barry Memorial Hall - the Story of 44 Parnell Square’ my Sinn Féin council colleague Mícheál Mac Donncha tells how 44 was one of the places where Seán met with other leading IRA members in the period just before his death. Indeed, before the year 1920 was over, four of those who met regularly in 44 for planning and training would be dead at the hands of the enemy - Seán Treacy, Kevin Barry, Dick McKee and Peadar Clancy.”

After recalling the circumstances of Seán’s death in a shoot-out with British forces on Talbot Street on 14 October 1920, Cllr Boylan continued: 

“In Dublin as well as Tipperary we need to keep alive his memory and that of his comrades, not only because they deserve that tribute but also because their work is not finished. 

“Seán and his comrades did not give their lives for a partitioned Ireland. They died for Ireland United and free. So did those Volunteers who died in every phase of the struggle for freedom and we honour them all equally. 

“Today we have a peaceful, democratic road forward to Irish Unity. We in Sinn Féin have been on that road since the Good Friday Agreement set out the provision for the referendum on Irish Unity. That is a fundamental part of the Agreement and no British Prime Minister or Secretary of State has the right to say it is ‘off the table’. 

• Seán Treacy

“Equally, no Taoiseach has the right to do what Mícheál Martin has done, or should I say not done. He refuses to engage on the issue of the referendum. He refuses to take part in the Irish Unity debate that is happening across Ireland. He refuses to plan. He refuses to prepare. 

“This is the centenary of his party Fianna Fáil. Its first aim when it was founded was the unity of Ireland as a republic. Yet what does Mícheál Martin say? He says talk of a border poll drives him bananas. An interesting word. Maybe the banana refers to the history of Fianna Fáil. They started green, turned yellow and ended up rotten. 

“The truth is that the Taoiseach is an obstacle to Irish Unity. But we have faced far worse obstacles before. We will carry on pushing forward because change is unstoppable, there is no turning back. The old Orange state is gone forever, Partition has run its course and it’s time for a new United Ireland. 

“Irish Unity will not be won by Sinn Féin alone but it will not be won without Sinn Féin. A better, fairer Ireland, where people can enjoy a decent, affordable quality of life will not be won by us alone but it will not be won without us. 

“So let’s build our political strength, build Sinn Féin, build the momentum towards Irish Unity, work with those who share our ideals, show that we have the vision, the strategy and the policies to create an Ireland of Equals, a real Republic. 

“The Irish Republic of 32 Counties will be the true monument to those like Seán Treacy who gave their lives for Irish freedom. It will be the Republic for our children and grandchildren to live in and to shape according to their needs. That is the future for which we work. Ar aghaidh linn le chéile agus tiocfaidh ár lá.”