24 May 2001 Edition
Tan War veteran opens Derry centre
An All-Ireland minor hurling medal hangs on the wall of the museum in the new Sinn Féin centre in the County Derry town of Dungiven.
The medal was won by Kevin Lynch in 1972. Beside the medal there is a photograph from an old newspaper showing Kevin holding the Minor trophy aloft.
It is a picture of a strong, fit and athletic youth, a proud young man whose courage would eventually lead him into the fight for Irish freedom and imprisonment in the H Blocks and ultimately to death on Hunger Strike in 1981.
Accompanying the display is the `comm' Kevin sent to his family telling them of his decision to join the hunger strike.
That Kevin's family parted with such a valuable keepsake is testament to their own courage and the value they place on the role the new museum will play in honouring republicans from the East Derry area and the part they have played in the struggle for freedom.
Amongst the other items in the museum are handicrafts made in various jails throughout Ireland over the decades since partition.
The museum stands above the new Sinn Féin advice centre for East Derry. Situated on Dungiven's Main Street, the three-storey office was built on a derelict site that once housed the hardware store of one of County Derry's leading unionist families.
The new centre was officially opened last month by Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams and Brian Kilmartin, a veteran of the Tan War and at 97 years old one of the oldest, if not the oldest, surviving IRA Volunteer from that time.
Brian Kilmartin, a native of Dungiven, was guest of honour at the opening, which was attended by over 100 invited guests, including Adams, Martin McGuinness, Mitchel McLaughlin and Francie Brolly, the party's candidate in the upcoming general election. Marion Donaghy, Martin McGuigan and Malachy O'Kane who are also standing as candidates in next month's local government elections, were among the invited guests.
Brian Kilmartin's brother, Volunteer Denis Kilmartin, and his uncle, Volunteer John Carolan, were executed by the B Specials in 1922. The day after their funerals, Brian went to live in Donegal. He did not set foot in Dungiven again until he returned for the office opening.
``I was an IRA Volunteer in 1922'', said the veteran, ``because I believed in the justness of the republican cause. Time has not diluted my belief that the only solution to Ireland's problem was eventual British withdrawal''.
Speaking about the killing of his brother and uncle, Brian said: ``It was the B Specials. I heard that Denis and John saw the lights of the Specials approaching and tried to get away but they were caught and shot. I can never forget those who killed my family in the way they did.''
Francie Brolly, a former internee, told An Phoblacht that the new custom built office ``represents a milestone in the growth of our party in East Derry and is a credit to the hard work and commitment of republican people throughout the area''.
The Dungiven Sinn Féin Centre is open from 9.30am to 1pm and from 2pm to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday. For further information phone 028 777 42488.
The medal was won by Kevin Lynch in 1972. Beside the medal there is a photograph from an old newspaper showing Kevin holding the Minor trophy aloft.
It is a picture of a strong, fit and athletic youth, a proud young man whose courage would eventually lead him into the fight for Irish freedom and imprisonment in the H Blocks and ultimately to death on Hunger Strike in 1981.
Accompanying the display is the `comm' Kevin sent to his family telling them of his decision to join the hunger strike.
That Kevin's family parted with such a valuable keepsake is testament to their own courage and the value they place on the role the new museum will play in honouring republicans from the East Derry area and the part they have played in the struggle for freedom.
Amongst the other items in the museum are handicrafts made in various jails throughout Ireland over the decades since partition.
The museum stands above the new Sinn Féin advice centre for East Derry. Situated on Dungiven's Main Street, the three-storey office was built on a derelict site that once housed the hardware store of one of County Derry's leading unionist families.
The new centre was officially opened last month by Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams and Brian Kilmartin, a veteran of the Tan War and at 97 years old one of the oldest, if not the oldest, surviving IRA Volunteer from that time.
Brian Kilmartin, a native of Dungiven, was guest of honour at the opening, which was attended by over 100 invited guests, including Adams, Martin McGuinness, Mitchel McLaughlin and Francie Brolly, the party's candidate in the upcoming general election. Marion Donaghy, Martin McGuigan and Malachy O'Kane who are also standing as candidates in next month's local government elections, were among the invited guests.
Brian Kilmartin's brother, Volunteer Denis Kilmartin, and his uncle, Volunteer John Carolan, were executed by the B Specials in 1922. The day after their funerals, Brian went to live in Donegal. He did not set foot in Dungiven again until he returned for the office opening.
``I was an IRA Volunteer in 1922'', said the veteran, ``because I believed in the justness of the republican cause. Time has not diluted my belief that the only solution to Ireland's problem was eventual British withdrawal''.
Speaking about the killing of his brother and uncle, Brian said: ``It was the B Specials. I heard that Denis and John saw the lights of the Specials approaching and tried to get away but they were caught and shot. I can never forget those who killed my family in the way they did.''
Francie Brolly, a former internee, told An Phoblacht that the new custom built office ``represents a milestone in the growth of our party in East Derry and is a credit to the hard work and commitment of republican people throughout the area''.
The Dungiven Sinn Féin Centre is open from 9.30am to 1pm and from 2pm to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday. For further information phone 028 777 42488.