Noel McCann

The sad news that Noel McCann had passed away in Clonmel, Co Tipperary reached prompted a sense of disbelief in his native Ballinasloe.

Although he had been ill for some time, the 64-year-old, larger-than-life figure's death came as a shock to all.

As a young man, Noel was a keen sportsman, playing for St Grellan's victorious 1955 minor football team. Last summer he was in Hyde Park along with his two sons to see Galway play Leitrim in the Connaught Football Final.

Noel had, from a young age, a passionate conviction that Britain's unjust occupation of Ireland had to be challenged and he resolved that he would be in the vanguard of those who would resist British rule in Ireland. As an Óglaigh na hÉireann Volunteer, he proved himself an intelligent and daring soldier.

Noel's arrest and imprisonment in Portlaoise for eight years did not diminish his resolve. As a prisoner of war in Portlaoise he earned the respect of his comrades in the jail, which was evident in the large attendance at his funeral from all over Ireland. The mourners saw Noel laid to rest with a Republican Guard of Honour.

On the night that Noel passed away in Clonmel, a new Sinn Féin cumann was being formed in his home town of Ballinasloe, a sign that the objectives for which he struggled all his life are alive and well in the Ireland of today.

Deepest sympathies are extended to all those who loved him deeply.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.