25 February 1999 Edition
``Freedom will not be given - it must be won''
By Ned Kelly
Around 150 people gathered in Dunloy in North Antrim on Sunday for the 1t annual commemoration of the death of two young local Oglaigh na hEireann Volunteers, Henry Hogan and Declan Martin, killed in action against the British SAS on 21 February 1984.
Young and old republicans from near and far joined with the people of Dunloy in braving the icy winds.
The oration was delivered by well-known republican Brian Keenan who underlined both the legacy of Hogan and Martin who ``took on the British murder gangs'' and the battles which lie ahead for Irish republicans. He emphasised that ``freedom will not be given it must be won''.
In describing the links that bind communities across Ireland in the battle against British imperialism, Keenan spoke about a young priest, Father Hugh Mullan who after ministering to the Dunloy community between 1963 and 1970 was killed by British soldiers on the morning of internment on 9 August 1971 in a field by the Springfield Road in West Belfast as he went to the aid of a wounded civilian.
Speaking in a town that every year is isolated by a sectarian Orange siege, Keenan expressed the solidarity that is the bedrock of republicanism. He went on to say that in the battle for unity, equality and freedom that disunity was the greatest danger. He said: ``This struggle is there to be won and victory is the only option but the only thing that ever defeated the Irish was the Irish themselves.''
Against the background of a peace process that is failing to deliver peace, where the call for justice is being ignored and where equality is being denied, Keenan said that the SDLP, Dublin and Unionism were ``not friends of the working class''.
In a day that saw all the seasons, the warmth and hospitality of Dunloy Republicans was well appreciated. It underlined also the continued need for solidarity with the people in isolated communities be it Dunloy, the Garvaghy Road or Ligoneil.
Around 150 people gathered in Dunloy in North Antrim on Sunday for the 1t annual commemoration of the death of two young local Oglaigh na hEireann Volunteers, Henry Hogan and Declan Martin, killed in action against the British SAS on 21 February 1984.
Young and old republicans from near and far joined with the people of Dunloy in braving the icy winds.
The oration was delivered by well-known republican Brian Keenan who underlined both the legacy of Hogan and Martin who ``took on the British murder gangs'' and the battles which lie ahead for Irish republicans. He emphasised that ``freedom will not be given it must be won''.
In describing the links that bind communities across Ireland in the battle against British imperialism, Keenan spoke about a young priest, Father Hugh Mullan who after ministering to the Dunloy community between 1963 and 1970 was killed by British soldiers on the morning of internment on 9 August 1971 in a field by the Springfield Road in West Belfast as he went to the aid of a wounded civilian.
Speaking in a town that every year is isolated by a sectarian Orange siege, Keenan expressed the solidarity that is the bedrock of republicanism. He went on to say that in the battle for unity, equality and freedom that disunity was the greatest danger. He said: ``This struggle is there to be won and victory is the only option but the only thing that ever defeated the Irish was the Irish themselves.''
Against the background of a peace process that is failing to deliver peace, where the call for justice is being ignored and where equality is being denied, Keenan said that the SDLP, Dublin and Unionism were ``not friends of the working class''.
In a day that saw all the seasons, the warmth and hospitality of Dunloy Republicans was well appreciated. It underlined also the continued need for solidarity with the people in isolated communities be it Dunloy, the Garvaghy Road or Ligoneil.