Latest news with #1916Proclamation
Extra.ie
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Extra.ie
Sinn Féin demand explanation as portrait of President is removed
Sinn Féin called on the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Tracy Kelly, to explain the decision to remove a portrait of President Michael D Higgins from Belfast City Hall. Following a social media post by Ms Kelly, Sinn Féin councillors were quick to notice that a portrait of Mr Higgins had been removed from a reception parlour in the building. Sinn Féin has now called on Ms Kelly to explain the decision to remove the portrait. Lord Mayor of Belfast Tracy Kelly. Pic: Belfast City Council The portrait had been placed in the reception room by Sinn Féin's Ryan Murphy when he was lord mayor. The picture was put up after Mr Murphy received a portrait of King Charles and decided to place the two side by side. This was then followed by a formal event to mark the occasion. The portrait's disappearance prompted Mr Murphy to question its whereabouts in a council meeting on Tuesday. Belfast City Council confirmed that the portrait, despite no longer being on display, is being safely stored at City Hall, 'at the request of the current lord mayor'. President Michael D Higgins. Pic: Joe Giddens –In a council meeting on Tuesday, Mr Murphy praised Ms Kelly on her work so far as the Democratic Unionist Party's (DUP) first female Lord Mayor of Belfast before raising concerns surrounding the removed portrait. In a transcript of the meeting released by the BBC, Mr Murphy said: 'When our representatives have been in that position of being the mayor, there were certain things that we never took off the walls. There were certain things we felt were off limits.' The council defended the decision, saying decoration of the City Hall was 'a matter for each individual lord mayor throughout their term in office. Former Lord Mayor Ryan Murphy. Pic: Belfast City Council Mr Murphy said there was 'no rationale behind the removal of this portrait', asking, 'What kind of message does it send out for the people in this city who hold the President of Ireland in high regard?' The DUP said that 'decoration of the lord mayor's parlour is not yet complete' and that 'there will be further artefacts to be added in the next few weeks'. Mr Murphy described the initial placement of the portrait as a symbolic means of representing the many communities of Belfast, saying, 'a large section of the community in Belfast have a deep respect for Uachtarán na hÉireann and that was reflected in the presence of the portrait in City Hall'. He told 'The mayor of Belfast has a responsibility to promote respect and tolerance for all traditions in our city.' This isn't the first time controversy has arisen surrounding the placement of portraits in Belfast City Hall. In 2011, Sinn Féin lord mayor Niall Ó Donnghaile upset unionists after removing pictures of the Queen Mother and Prince Philip from the reception parlour. He replaced them with the 1916 Proclamation and a portrait of the United Irishmen, sparking outrage from DUP councillors at the time. Last October, there was controversy after the PSNI opened an investigation into damage caused to a portrait of former DUP lord mayor Wallace Browne at Belfast City Hall. The PSNI would later declare it a hate crime. A Sinn Féin employee from Stormont later came forward to the party's chief whip, admitting to causing the damage and later tendering their resignation.
Irish Independent
30-04-2025
- General
- Irish Independent
See pictures from Easter commemorations in New Ross
There was a large crowd in attendance for the mass in St Mary and Michael's Church, and the parade thereafter which assembled in the Irishtown, and both the mass and parade were in memory of the men and women of the old IRA, to honour their sacrifices. When the parade arrived at St Stephen's Cemetery, MC Larry Shannon introduced the event and Monsignor Joe McGrath recited a decade of the rosary, followed by a reading of the 1916 Proclamation by Pipe Major, Paschal Bolger. Former FCA Officer, Jim Sutton, performed the laying of the wreath, at which point, the FCA Pipe Band played the lament, Wrap the Green Flag Around Me, which was introduced for the centenary anniversary. A minute's silence then took place. Two members of the Confraternity band, Jane Connolly and George Delany played The Last Post and Reveille on bugles, accompanied by Derek Bolger, followed by a heart-rending performance of the national anthem by the FCA Pipe Band. On behalf of the organising committee, John Bennett said he's grateful to Derek Furness and District Manager, Alan Fitzhenry, 'they have the place immaculate.' He thanked New Ross Municipal District and politicians for attending, and Joanne Cooney for use of her PA system.
Irish Independent
26-04-2025
- General
- Irish Independent
Wexford village marks anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising
Proceedings on the day were opened by Oulart Hill Chairman Chris Furlong who introduced James Adams who sang a beautiful rendition of the song 'Grace.' This song was named after one of the Gifford sisters who married Joseph Plunkett just a few hours before his death and never married afterwards. Sean Dempsey then took up centre stage and read out the names of the 35 Oulart volunteers. This was then followed by a powerful reading of the 1916 Proclamation. Barry Leacy, a Ballycarney historian and archaeologist, read his own encouraging address called 'The importance of the Past in the Present.' Councillor Mary Farrell, whose grandfathers were in Enniscorthy with the Oulart company, stepped up to the microphone to deliver a haunting rendition of 'Meet me at the Pillar' before rounding it out with the national anthem. "This is always a proud day for my family as both grandfathers John Hayden and James Dempsey are listed on the monument and remembered with the other men named for their bravery at that crucial time of Irish history. It was once again a privilege to be asked to sing at the event,' she said. In attendance was also Minister James Browne, Cllr Pip Breen, Rev James Hammel of the Uacthtarán Uí Cinsealaigh Historical Society, and Willie French of the Wexford Historical Society. Refreshments and tarts were then provided to the crowd in the Storytelling House by Eileen Dempsey, where visitors were also treated to a showing of a new video centred on the 1798 rising.
Belfast Telegraph
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
MLA reports NI shop selling republican regalia to Trading Standards
Diana Armstrong, an Ulster Unionist MLA for Fermanagh-South Tyrone, said she has contacted Trading Standards about the store in Dungannon. The store, Siopa 16 at Beechvalley Way in the town, is selling republican-themed items including coasters, prints, bodhrans and more. Photos posted to the shop's Facebook page showcase bodhrans in support of the IRA's East Tyrone Brigade, memorabilia of high-profile IRA hunger strikers and copies of the 1916 Proclamation. Some items contain the image of eight IRA men shot dead by the SAS at Loughgall. The gang were killed as they mounted a gun and bomb attack on the village's RUC station in May 1987. There is also an item bearing the image of IRA woman Mairead Farrell, who was shot dead by the SAS in Gibraltar in 1988. Diana Armstrong said the shop will cause unease across the community. 'I'm always one for promoting small business and entrepreneurship but the most recent addition on the Dungannon is one I will never support as it is nothing more than a shrine to terrorism and is deeply provocative to the whole community,' she said. 'The glorification and exploitation of well-known IRA terrorists who made no quarrel in murdering our kin is sickening and to stick them on a t-shirt or to don your shop with republican regalia is equally disturbing. Police at the scene of ongoing security alert at Cavehill in north Belfast 'Many of the items on sale will cause unease across the community and will be profoundly hurtful to the victims of republican terrorism. "I have urgently written to the Trading Standards watchdog seeking their intervention to see if this sort of trading is appropriate in Dungannon, as no paramilitary organisation should be promoted on our high streets."
