Boylan represents Sinn Féin in San Francisco | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

Boylan represents Sinn Féin in San Francisco

Newry & Armagh MLA Cathal Boylan recently celebrated Easter Sunday in not-so-traditional fashion after he represented Sinn Féin as guest speaker at the annual San Francisco Easter Commemoration, which was held this year at the grave of Thomas Desmond at Holy Cross Cemetery.

Mr Boylan began by thanking the event organisers for inviting him to attend and he went on to pay tribute to Thomas Desmond saying, “I am delighted that my first visit to San Francisco has been at the attendance of today’s event which honours those who perished during the Easter Rising of 1916 and all those Irish Republicans since then who have sacrificed their lives in the pursuit of Irish freedom. Thomas Desmond, at whose grave we meet this morning, was a former Sheriff of San Francisco and one of the organizers of the freeing of the Fenian prisoners from Freemantle jail in Australia aboard the ship ’Catalpa’ in 1876.”

Boylan continued,“In today’s world communication is taken for granted but we must cast our minds back to the time of Thomas Desmond when the escape of the Fenian Prisoners would have been arranged with pen and paper between America, Ireland and Australia. Much like the Easter Rising just 40 years later. As Irish republicans we should take our lead from the bravery of these people and fight the battles of today against austerity, greed and inequality by using the communication tools available to us.”

The ceremony concluded with the renowned San Francisco Pearse and Connolly Fife and Drum Band playing Amhrán Na BhFainn.

Short URL: https://newrytimes.com/?p=11376

Posted by on Apr 20 2012. Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Leave a Reply







Find us on Facebook

Log in | Designed by Gabfire themes