revolutionary spirit
17th June 2002, 20:17
>>>>>> Wolfe Tone commemoration
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The full text of the address at the annual Sinn Fein Wolfe Tone
Commemoration at Bodenstown, County Kildare on Sunday by
Caoimhghin O Caolain TD
-------------------------------------------------------------------
We assemble today at the graveside of Theobald Wolfe Tone to pay
tribute to the pioneer of Irish republicanism, the key man at the
beginning of the Republican Movement in Ireland and the man who
laid the foundation stone of Irish independence. We gather here
as the United Irishmen and Irishwomen of 2002 to signal our
determination and to renew our pledge to carry on the work of
Tone and to achieve the complete unity and independence of
Ireland.
Cois uaigh Theobald Wolfe Tone taimid bailithe chun omos a
thabhairt don bhfear a chuir tus le Gluaiseacht na Poblachta in
Eirinn. Tagaimid anseo mar Eireannaigh Aontaithe le cur in iul go
bhfuilimid ag dul ar aghaidh le obair Wolfe Tone.
Through good times and bad times, republicans of every generation
have come together in this graveyard in the beautiful countryside
of County Kildare to rededicate themselves to the cause of Irish
freedom. In days of severe State repression, imprisonment and
censorship on both sides of the Border, republicans gathered here
to demonstrate their unity of purpose and their irrepressible
spirit of resistance. On several occasions in the 1930s and '40s
this commemoration was banned by the Dublin government. In every
decade in the past century there were hundreds of republicans who
could not be here because they were sentenced prisoners or
interned without trial. Through many years of tragic conflict
there were faces missing from the crowd, faces of our republican
comrades who lost their lives in struggle since last they
gathered at Bodenstown.
In such times it was people like Joe Cahill who ensured that the
flame of freedom kept burning and I want to pay special tribute
to Joe who for many years has been one of the chief organisers of
Bodenstown and one of the leading comrades in our struggle. Joe
and others like him saw the dark days. But they have lived to see
brighter days and we owe a special debt of gratitude to all our
older comrades who have kept alive the spirit of freedom.
I would also like us to recall those republicans who have died in
the past year. I mention especially the late Oliver de Brun who
asked that his ashes be scattered on Tone's grave today. Oliver
worked tirelessly over decades for the Republican Movement in
London. We do not acknowledge often enough those who have worked
and who continue to work for Irish republicanism on the island of
Britain, often in the most difficult of circumstances. Their
contribution is invaluable.
While we gather at Wolfe Tone's grave today the residents of a
small nationalist community in East Belfast are under siege. The
people of Short Strand have been under daily attack from loyalist
gangs, led by loyalist paramilitaries, for weeks now. The
population of this nationalist enclave is only around 3,000 and
it is surrounded on all sides by a predominantly loyalist
population of 60,000. Many homes have been badly damaged again in
the past couple of days and deaths only narrowly avoided.
On 7 June a loyalist force of 100 masked men entered the campus
of the Belfast Institutue of Higher Education near Short Strand.
Their aim was to terrorise Catholic students in a college where
Protestants and Catholics are educated together. Death threats
were issued by the loyalists and the college has had to close
early for the summer. On 5 June a loyalist mob carrying banners
attacked a funeral outside St. Matthew's Chapel in Short Strand,
raining bricks and stones on the coffin, the bereaved family and
the cortege. These are just two of many incidents affecting Short
Strand.
There has also been a series of similar attacks throughout
Belfast and in other parts of the Six Counties, with nationalist
homes and schools, as well as Catholic churches, coming under
vicious attack. I want, on your behalf, to send a strong message
of solidarity to all those besieged communities and to assure
them of our full support. They are not alone.
I want also to send a message to First Minister David Trimble.
Mr. Trimble has attempted to blame republicans for recent
disturbances but he knows very well that the latest sectarian
onslaught has been initiated and orchestrated by loyalist
paramilitaries. In his failure to confront these forces and in
his attempts to falsely blame republicans Mr. Trimble is highly
irresponsible and his public attitude does nothing to dampen the
flames of hatred and sectarianism.
It is appropriate at the grave of Theobald Wolfe Tone, a member
of the Church of Ireland, that I make it clear on behalf of
republicans that we are totally opposed to all forms of
sectarianism. Sectarian attacks of any kind, whether deemed
retaliatory or not, are always wrong and we sympathise as much
with innocent Protestants whose homes have been damaged as we do
with innocent Catholics. Sectarianism must be rejected in all its
manifestations.
One of the most disturbing aspects of the latest sectarian
attacks is the way in which large sections of the media have
failed to report them, misreported them or, most often, totally
misrepresented what is taking place. Many in the media seem
determined to maintain the myth that this is a spontaneous
eruption of sectarianism with what they call 'both sides' being
equally responsible. They promote the myth that these communities
are inherently incapable of living side by side. This very
conveniently makes further inquiry and research unnecessary and
absolves the loyalist and unionist politicians and the RUC/PSNI
of their responsibility.
In recent days we have seen loyalists turn their attacks on those
within the Protestant community who have attempted to build
bridges with their Catholic neighbours and to advance the cause
of peace. This points to the real motivation for the current
sectarian attacks. Reactionary loyalism is seeking to roll back
every advance towards equality. At the same time factions within
loyalism are competeing for supremacy in the time-honoured manner
by attempting to outdo one another in their sectarian deeds. And
the unreformed RUC/PSNI is either standing aside or joining
loyalist mobs in their attacks on nationalists.
Now more than ever political leadership is needed to prevent an
escalation of violence. I call on the leaders of political
unionism to join with their nationalist counterparts in the
Executive, in the Assembly, in local councils and in the
community to confront sectarianism and to advance those areas of
common ground which we share since the achievement of the Good
Friday Agreement. The Agreement provides the way out of the cul
de sac of sectarianism. The political leaders of unionism should
promote that Agreement and the principles of equality on which it
is based. That is the best guarantee of security for all our
people.
For our part we in Sinn Fein are conscious of our obligations
also. We recognise that many in the unionist community have deep
fears and suspicions of republicans. We acknowledge that great
hurt has been inflicted on them during the conflict, just as
great hurt has been inflicted on the nationalist community. But
it is in our mutual interest to build on the achievements of the
peace process, achievements which we share and in which we can
take pride, and to work together for reconciliation and progress
on this island.
As we seek to overcome decades of division in our country and to
look to a new future, republicans take continuing inspiration
from the political legacy of Wolfe Tone and the United Irishmen.
We seek, in the words of Tone, "to unite the whole people of
Ireland, to abolish the memory of all
past dissensions, and to substitute the common name of Irishman
in place of the denominations of Protestant, Catholic and
Dissenter..."
Tone and his comrades knew that only a tiny privileged minority
in Ireland held political power and only they benefited from
British rule. His republicanism was based on the principle of
EQUALITY, the single word emblazoned on the crest of the United
Irishmen. He was vehemently opposed to all abuse of privilege and
power. We need to challenge those abuses today also. In the Six
Counties the privileged position of the Orange establishment is
broken and there can never be a return to one-party rule in a
sectarian state. Republicans have made sure of that. But much
more remains to be done if all our people are to enjoy equal
rights.
The Good Friday Agreement must be fully implemented. Further
progress is long overdue in the areas of demilitarisation and
policing. The events of the past weeks have vindicated Sinn
Fein's assertion that the RUC/PSNI is not the new policing
service which was promised under the Agreement. It has not
abandoned its legacy as a counter-insurgency force with the RUC
Special Branch in the driving seat.
Throughout the past 30 years republicans and nationalists have
highlighted the institutionalised collusion between British
military forces, the RUC and loyalist paramilitaries. Very often
those claims were dismissed as propaganda. But from the bombing
of Dublin and Monaghan in 1974, through numerous murders of
nationalists and republicans, including members of Sinn Fein, to
the murders of Pat Finucane and Rosemary Nelson, the pattern of
widespread collusion was clear for all who cared to examine what
was really happening in the North of our country. It seems that
the imminent report of the Stevens Inquiry is about to
acknowledge this institutionalised collusion between loyalist
paramilitaries and British forces. Be prepared for another
backlash from the securocrats and those with a vested interest in
covering up the crimes of the British forces and their allies.
A sustained effort is under way to prevent the truth being
exposed and questions must be raised about the recent killings of
a number of loyalists who were prime suspects or key witnesses in
cases of collusion.
Parallel with this effort to hide the truth about Britain's dirty
war in Ireland are ongoing attempts to expel Sinn Fein from the
political process. Unionists and Tories are returning to the old
agenda by which they sought to prevent the peace talks which led
to the Good Friday Agreement. Let the message go out loud and
clear. We in Sinn Fein have a democratic mandate and we will
fulfil that mandate in the Assembly, in the Executive, in the
All-Ireland Ministerial Council and in all the institutions
established under the Agreement. There will be no return to the
days of exclusion. Sinn Fein is here to stay and unionist leaders
must come to terms with us now and in the future.
The Irish government should continue to fulfil its obligations
under the Agreement. It is committed to carry out a comprehensive
review of the Offences Against the State Acts. Instead it has
actually reinforced that repressive legislation and established a
very limited review with little public participation. We in Sinn
Fein believe this legislation must be repealed. It is time to end
the shameful legacy of the Special Court in Green Street and to
fully vindicate the rights of all citizens.
The Irish government should also fulfil its obligation to release
all qualifying political prisoners, including the remaining
republican prisoners in Castlerea, County Roscommon.
I have referred to the sad spectacle of sectarian attacks in
Belfast but
there are also signs of hope and progress in the city which was
the cradle of Irish republicanism at the time of the United
Irishmen. Last week there was a momentous event in Belfast City
Hall when for the first time in its history the Council elected a
Sinn Fein Mayor. We extend our congratulations to the First
Citizen of Ireland's second city, Mayor Alex Maskey.
Comhghairdeas do agus do na poblachtanaigh uile i mBeal Feirste
cois cuain. Bhi sibh i gconai chun tosaigh sa streachailt ar son
saoirse agus ta sibh fos ann.
Alex has pledged that he will be a Mayor for all the citizens
regardless of political or religious affiliation and one of his
first tasks was to attend the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church. This was a very important step and a
difficult one for many of those in attendance. But the voices of
reason prevailed and the democratic wishes of the people of
Belfast were recognised. This is a small but significant advance
towards greater tolerance and peaceful co-existence and one we
warmly welcome. It should be noted that there have been many
similar small but significant steps taken by people from
seemingly opposing positions, that have gone unnoticed and
unheralded but each of which are equally important and positive.
On the day after Alex Maskey became Mayor of Belfast I kept a
promise. When I was first elected to Leinster House five years
ago I pledged that after the next general election I would not
walk through those gates alone. I want to thank all those who
worked so diligently over the past five years for Sinn Fein in
constituencies throughout the 26 Counties and who made it
possible to fulfil that promise. I want to thank all who voted
for our party and I want you to congratulate my four new
colleagues in the Dail - Sean Crowe TD, Martin Ferris TD, Arthur
Morgan TD and Aengus O Snodaigh TD.
There were other candidates who came very close to gaining seats
and all our candidates, their election directorates and election
teams worked without stint for months on end. Their day will come
also. Comhghairdeas agus go raibh mile maith acu uile.
As leader of the Sinn Fein team in Leinster House I pledge that
we will provide the best representation for our electorate, for
this party and for Irish republicanism.
Last year at Bodenstown we celebrated the election of four Sinn
Fein MPs. This year we are celebrating the election of five Sinn
Fein TDs. And what of next year? Assembly elections are due in
May 2003 and Sinn Fein is on course to increase its support very
significantly and even to become the largest single party in the
Six Counties. Watch this space.
Despite what some posters may have said during the general
election Sinn Fein is the republican party and the only
all-Ireland party on this island. We are growing from strength to
strength and are the only party with significantly increasing
support among young people. But remember we do not seek electoral
success and elected office for their own sake. We want to use our
political strength to advance the objectives of Irish
republicanism, to build the peace process, to end sectarianism,
to bring together our divided people, to unite our country and to
create social and economic equality. In Leinster House, in the
Assembly, in council chambers throughout this land, and among our
party activists on the ground, these must be the principles which
guide us. We must continue to represent those people whom Wolfe
Tone called the men and women of no property.
We have much work to do in the year ahead.
There is re-run referendum to be fought in defence of Irish
neutrality and sovereignty and against the Treaty of Nice. As
republicans in the tradition of Tone we will again play a leading
part in the campaign against a treaty which paves the way for an
undemocratic and militarised European Union superstate. Instead
we seek an EU based on liberty, equality and fraternity - the
liberty of each sovereign people, equality between states and
fraternity between the nations of Europe and the wider world.
There is another election to be fought next year and I know that
the excellent all-Ireland co-operation within Sinn Fein which
demonstrated itself during the General Election just past will be
repeated in the Assembly elections.
In conclusion we recall that Wolfe Tone's primary objective was
"to break the connection with England" and "to assert the
independence of my country". That is still our objective and we
are more determined than ever to achieve it.
Let us go forward to Irish unity and independence and to freedom,
justice and peace for all our people.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The full text of the address at the annual Sinn Fein Wolfe Tone
Commemoration at Bodenstown, County Kildare on Sunday by
Caoimhghin O Caolain TD
-------------------------------------------------------------------
We assemble today at the graveside of Theobald Wolfe Tone to pay
tribute to the pioneer of Irish republicanism, the key man at the
beginning of the Republican Movement in Ireland and the man who
laid the foundation stone of Irish independence. We gather here
as the United Irishmen and Irishwomen of 2002 to signal our
determination and to renew our pledge to carry on the work of
Tone and to achieve the complete unity and independence of
Ireland.
Cois uaigh Theobald Wolfe Tone taimid bailithe chun omos a
thabhairt don bhfear a chuir tus le Gluaiseacht na Poblachta in
Eirinn. Tagaimid anseo mar Eireannaigh Aontaithe le cur in iul go
bhfuilimid ag dul ar aghaidh le obair Wolfe Tone.
Through good times and bad times, republicans of every generation
have come together in this graveyard in the beautiful countryside
of County Kildare to rededicate themselves to the cause of Irish
freedom. In days of severe State repression, imprisonment and
censorship on both sides of the Border, republicans gathered here
to demonstrate their unity of purpose and their irrepressible
spirit of resistance. On several occasions in the 1930s and '40s
this commemoration was banned by the Dublin government. In every
decade in the past century there were hundreds of republicans who
could not be here because they were sentenced prisoners or
interned without trial. Through many years of tragic conflict
there were faces missing from the crowd, faces of our republican
comrades who lost their lives in struggle since last they
gathered at Bodenstown.
In such times it was people like Joe Cahill who ensured that the
flame of freedom kept burning and I want to pay special tribute
to Joe who for many years has been one of the chief organisers of
Bodenstown and one of the leading comrades in our struggle. Joe
and others like him saw the dark days. But they have lived to see
brighter days and we owe a special debt of gratitude to all our
older comrades who have kept alive the spirit of freedom.
I would also like us to recall those republicans who have died in
the past year. I mention especially the late Oliver de Brun who
asked that his ashes be scattered on Tone's grave today. Oliver
worked tirelessly over decades for the Republican Movement in
London. We do not acknowledge often enough those who have worked
and who continue to work for Irish republicanism on the island of
Britain, often in the most difficult of circumstances. Their
contribution is invaluable.
While we gather at Wolfe Tone's grave today the residents of a
small nationalist community in East Belfast are under siege. The
people of Short Strand have been under daily attack from loyalist
gangs, led by loyalist paramilitaries, for weeks now. The
population of this nationalist enclave is only around 3,000 and
it is surrounded on all sides by a predominantly loyalist
population of 60,000. Many homes have been badly damaged again in
the past couple of days and deaths only narrowly avoided.
On 7 June a loyalist force of 100 masked men entered the campus
of the Belfast Institutue of Higher Education near Short Strand.
Their aim was to terrorise Catholic students in a college where
Protestants and Catholics are educated together. Death threats
were issued by the loyalists and the college has had to close
early for the summer. On 5 June a loyalist mob carrying banners
attacked a funeral outside St. Matthew's Chapel in Short Strand,
raining bricks and stones on the coffin, the bereaved family and
the cortege. These are just two of many incidents affecting Short
Strand.
There has also been a series of similar attacks throughout
Belfast and in other parts of the Six Counties, with nationalist
homes and schools, as well as Catholic churches, coming under
vicious attack. I want, on your behalf, to send a strong message
of solidarity to all those besieged communities and to assure
them of our full support. They are not alone.
I want also to send a message to First Minister David Trimble.
Mr. Trimble has attempted to blame republicans for recent
disturbances but he knows very well that the latest sectarian
onslaught has been initiated and orchestrated by loyalist
paramilitaries. In his failure to confront these forces and in
his attempts to falsely blame republicans Mr. Trimble is highly
irresponsible and his public attitude does nothing to dampen the
flames of hatred and sectarianism.
It is appropriate at the grave of Theobald Wolfe Tone, a member
of the Church of Ireland, that I make it clear on behalf of
republicans that we are totally opposed to all forms of
sectarianism. Sectarian attacks of any kind, whether deemed
retaliatory or not, are always wrong and we sympathise as much
with innocent Protestants whose homes have been damaged as we do
with innocent Catholics. Sectarianism must be rejected in all its
manifestations.
One of the most disturbing aspects of the latest sectarian
attacks is the way in which large sections of the media have
failed to report them, misreported them or, most often, totally
misrepresented what is taking place. Many in the media seem
determined to maintain the myth that this is a spontaneous
eruption of sectarianism with what they call 'both sides' being
equally responsible. They promote the myth that these communities
are inherently incapable of living side by side. This very
conveniently makes further inquiry and research unnecessary and
absolves the loyalist and unionist politicians and the RUC/PSNI
of their responsibility.
In recent days we have seen loyalists turn their attacks on those
within the Protestant community who have attempted to build
bridges with their Catholic neighbours and to advance the cause
of peace. This points to the real motivation for the current
sectarian attacks. Reactionary loyalism is seeking to roll back
every advance towards equality. At the same time factions within
loyalism are competeing for supremacy in the time-honoured manner
by attempting to outdo one another in their sectarian deeds. And
the unreformed RUC/PSNI is either standing aside or joining
loyalist mobs in their attacks on nationalists.
Now more than ever political leadership is needed to prevent an
escalation of violence. I call on the leaders of political
unionism to join with their nationalist counterparts in the
Executive, in the Assembly, in local councils and in the
community to confront sectarianism and to advance those areas of
common ground which we share since the achievement of the Good
Friday Agreement. The Agreement provides the way out of the cul
de sac of sectarianism. The political leaders of unionism should
promote that Agreement and the principles of equality on which it
is based. That is the best guarantee of security for all our
people.
For our part we in Sinn Fein are conscious of our obligations
also. We recognise that many in the unionist community have deep
fears and suspicions of republicans. We acknowledge that great
hurt has been inflicted on them during the conflict, just as
great hurt has been inflicted on the nationalist community. But
it is in our mutual interest to build on the achievements of the
peace process, achievements which we share and in which we can
take pride, and to work together for reconciliation and progress
on this island.
As we seek to overcome decades of division in our country and to
look to a new future, republicans take continuing inspiration
from the political legacy of Wolfe Tone and the United Irishmen.
We seek, in the words of Tone, "to unite the whole people of
Ireland, to abolish the memory of all
past dissensions, and to substitute the common name of Irishman
in place of the denominations of Protestant, Catholic and
Dissenter..."
Tone and his comrades knew that only a tiny privileged minority
in Ireland held political power and only they benefited from
British rule. His republicanism was based on the principle of
EQUALITY, the single word emblazoned on the crest of the United
Irishmen. He was vehemently opposed to all abuse of privilege and
power. We need to challenge those abuses today also. In the Six
Counties the privileged position of the Orange establishment is
broken and there can never be a return to one-party rule in a
sectarian state. Republicans have made sure of that. But much
more remains to be done if all our people are to enjoy equal
rights.
The Good Friday Agreement must be fully implemented. Further
progress is long overdue in the areas of demilitarisation and
policing. The events of the past weeks have vindicated Sinn
Fein's assertion that the RUC/PSNI is not the new policing
service which was promised under the Agreement. It has not
abandoned its legacy as a counter-insurgency force with the RUC
Special Branch in the driving seat.
Throughout the past 30 years republicans and nationalists have
highlighted the institutionalised collusion between British
military forces, the RUC and loyalist paramilitaries. Very often
those claims were dismissed as propaganda. But from the bombing
of Dublin and Monaghan in 1974, through numerous murders of
nationalists and republicans, including members of Sinn Fein, to
the murders of Pat Finucane and Rosemary Nelson, the pattern of
widespread collusion was clear for all who cared to examine what
was really happening in the North of our country. It seems that
the imminent report of the Stevens Inquiry is about to
acknowledge this institutionalised collusion between loyalist
paramilitaries and British forces. Be prepared for another
backlash from the securocrats and those with a vested interest in
covering up the crimes of the British forces and their allies.
A sustained effort is under way to prevent the truth being
exposed and questions must be raised about the recent killings of
a number of loyalists who were prime suspects or key witnesses in
cases of collusion.
Parallel with this effort to hide the truth about Britain's dirty
war in Ireland are ongoing attempts to expel Sinn Fein from the
political process. Unionists and Tories are returning to the old
agenda by which they sought to prevent the peace talks which led
to the Good Friday Agreement. Let the message go out loud and
clear. We in Sinn Fein have a democratic mandate and we will
fulfil that mandate in the Assembly, in the Executive, in the
All-Ireland Ministerial Council and in all the institutions
established under the Agreement. There will be no return to the
days of exclusion. Sinn Fein is here to stay and unionist leaders
must come to terms with us now and in the future.
The Irish government should continue to fulfil its obligations
under the Agreement. It is committed to carry out a comprehensive
review of the Offences Against the State Acts. Instead it has
actually reinforced that repressive legislation and established a
very limited review with little public participation. We in Sinn
Fein believe this legislation must be repealed. It is time to end
the shameful legacy of the Special Court in Green Street and to
fully vindicate the rights of all citizens.
The Irish government should also fulfil its obligation to release
all qualifying political prisoners, including the remaining
republican prisoners in Castlerea, County Roscommon.
I have referred to the sad spectacle of sectarian attacks in
Belfast but
there are also signs of hope and progress in the city which was
the cradle of Irish republicanism at the time of the United
Irishmen. Last week there was a momentous event in Belfast City
Hall when for the first time in its history the Council elected a
Sinn Fein Mayor. We extend our congratulations to the First
Citizen of Ireland's second city, Mayor Alex Maskey.
Comhghairdeas do agus do na poblachtanaigh uile i mBeal Feirste
cois cuain. Bhi sibh i gconai chun tosaigh sa streachailt ar son
saoirse agus ta sibh fos ann.
Alex has pledged that he will be a Mayor for all the citizens
regardless of political or religious affiliation and one of his
first tasks was to attend the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church. This was a very important step and a
difficult one for many of those in attendance. But the voices of
reason prevailed and the democratic wishes of the people of
Belfast were recognised. This is a small but significant advance
towards greater tolerance and peaceful co-existence and one we
warmly welcome. It should be noted that there have been many
similar small but significant steps taken by people from
seemingly opposing positions, that have gone unnoticed and
unheralded but each of which are equally important and positive.
On the day after Alex Maskey became Mayor of Belfast I kept a
promise. When I was first elected to Leinster House five years
ago I pledged that after the next general election I would not
walk through those gates alone. I want to thank all those who
worked so diligently over the past five years for Sinn Fein in
constituencies throughout the 26 Counties and who made it
possible to fulfil that promise. I want to thank all who voted
for our party and I want you to congratulate my four new
colleagues in the Dail - Sean Crowe TD, Martin Ferris TD, Arthur
Morgan TD and Aengus O Snodaigh TD.
There were other candidates who came very close to gaining seats
and all our candidates, their election directorates and election
teams worked without stint for months on end. Their day will come
also. Comhghairdeas agus go raibh mile maith acu uile.
As leader of the Sinn Fein team in Leinster House I pledge that
we will provide the best representation for our electorate, for
this party and for Irish republicanism.
Last year at Bodenstown we celebrated the election of four Sinn
Fein MPs. This year we are celebrating the election of five Sinn
Fein TDs. And what of next year? Assembly elections are due in
May 2003 and Sinn Fein is on course to increase its support very
significantly and even to become the largest single party in the
Six Counties. Watch this space.
Despite what some posters may have said during the general
election Sinn Fein is the republican party and the only
all-Ireland party on this island. We are growing from strength to
strength and are the only party with significantly increasing
support among young people. But remember we do not seek electoral
success and elected office for their own sake. We want to use our
political strength to advance the objectives of Irish
republicanism, to build the peace process, to end sectarianism,
to bring together our divided people, to unite our country and to
create social and economic equality. In Leinster House, in the
Assembly, in council chambers throughout this land, and among our
party activists on the ground, these must be the principles which
guide us. We must continue to represent those people whom Wolfe
Tone called the men and women of no property.
We have much work to do in the year ahead.
There is re-run referendum to be fought in defence of Irish
neutrality and sovereignty and against the Treaty of Nice. As
republicans in the tradition of Tone we will again play a leading
part in the campaign against a treaty which paves the way for an
undemocratic and militarised European Union superstate. Instead
we seek an EU based on liberty, equality and fraternity - the
liberty of each sovereign people, equality between states and
fraternity between the nations of Europe and the wider world.
There is another election to be fought next year and I know that
the excellent all-Ireland co-operation within Sinn Fein which
demonstrated itself during the General Election just past will be
repeated in the Assembly elections.
In conclusion we recall that Wolfe Tone's primary objective was
"to break the connection with England" and "to assert the
independence of my country". That is still our objective and we
are more determined than ever to achieve it.
Let us go forward to Irish unity and independence and to freedom,
justice and peace for all our people.
---------------------------------------------------------------------