65th anniversary of Feargal Ó hAnnluain marked at his graveside – Matt Carthy TD
In recognition of the ongoing Covid-19 situation, it was a small gathering that met at the graveside of Feargal Ó hAnnluain at Latlurcan, Monaghan on New Years Day to mark the 65th anniversary of his death in 1957.
Feargal ÓhAnnlauin was just twenty years old when he partook in an IRA attack on Brookeborough RUC barracks on New Years Eve 1956. Both Feargal and his comrade, Seán Sabhat from County Limerick, were fatally wounded during the encounter. Both have been fondly remembered in ballads and through commemorations every year since.
The small contingent that marked the anniversary this year included Feargal’s sister Pádraigín Uí Mhurchadha along with her children and grandchildren. Personal friends of the family also in attendance included former Dáil Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin and local Sinn Féin Councillor, Seán Conlon, who officiated the proceedings.
Following a short prayer, local Sinn Féin TD, Matt Carthy spoke on behalf of those present by commending the Ó hAnnluain and Ó Mhurchadha family for the dignified manner in which they have paid tribute to Feargal over the past six and a half decades.
Deputy Carthy remarked that Feargal Ó hAnnluain remains a household main in Co Monaghan homes and among republicans all over Ireland. Feargal’s loss of life, alongside Seán Sabhat, had reawakened a new generation of Irish people to the injustice of partition at a time when governments in Dublin, Stormont and London were content to allow the oppression of nationalists in the six counties to remain hidden from view, he said.
The Sinn Féin TD said that Feargal’s anniversary, falling as it did on New Years Day, provided an apt opportunity to remember him and all of those who have given their lives in the pursuit of the Irish Republic – but also to look to the future. He said that 2022 will be another pivotal year in undoing the divisions of our country and to advance the planning and preparation of a United Ireland.
The ceremony concluded with the laying of a wreath by the namesake and grand-nephew of Feargal Ó hAnnluain, Feargal Mac Giola Chomhghail.
ENDS
