There was a great turnout for the Easter Rising Mass and Commemoration celebrated at the Green Tree Restaurant in the Bronx on Easter Sunday, which was dedicated to the men and women who fought for Irish freedom.
The celebration of the 94th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland was organized by Sean Oglaigh na hEireann and Friends of Irish Freedom.
Msgr. Patrick Moloney celebrated Mass for the gathering. He reminded them that “it was not an accident” that “just a handful of men would choose Easter to rise up” as Easter is a day of resurrection. “Our country is and was a land of saints and scholars, a holy island.” In a strident voice, Msgr. Moloney said the “mandate of 1916…has not yet been accomplished.” He said the civil rights that Bobby Sands died for have not yet been attained in the north. “Keep up the good fight. Keep the banner high,” he said calling for an “Ireland united and free…a nation once again.”
After Mass and before the guest speaker, the original 1916 Proclamation was read in Irish and in English by Maurice Brick and Michael McDermott, respectively.
Cathleen O’Brien, an organizer of the commemoration, also reported to the gathering on abuses in the north including PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) harassment through use of Section 44 to “stop, search and arrest” in republican areas.
Special guest was Lorna Brady of Strabane, County Tyrone, younger sister of John Brady, 40, who died in custody at the Strand Road Barracks in Derry on October 3, 2009. Brady, a well-known republican, had served 18 years in Long Kesh and Maghaberry prisons. He was due for release in November 2009 and had been out on weekend parole when he was involved in a dispute with a brother-in-law. He was picked up in Tyrone by the PSNI/RUC and taken to Derry. The next morning, Brady’s solicitor, John Finucane, visited him. Finucane left Brady in a legal consultation room for 15 or 20 minutes. When he returned, Brady was dead. The PSNI claimed that he had hung himself with shoelaces from a window.
Lorna Brady said that her family strongly disputes the claim that Brady committed suicide, saying that he was in good form when Finucane left him. She said this was the latest in a pattern of harassment of the Brady family which has included death threats of all including an 8-year-old child. Brady said it was an attempt to “demonize” people like her brother who were “true republicans.”
“I am here today to campaign for truth and justice,” said Lorna Brady, who is waiting for results of a PSNI investigation into her brother’s death. “We do not have the rights proclaimed in 1916….Do not forget those who live in Ireland under British rule. Support groups like [Friends of] Irish Freedom and the Republican Network for Unity.”
The celebration of the 94th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland was organized by Sean Oglaigh na hEireann and Friends of Irish Freedom.
Msgr. Patrick Moloney celebrated Mass for the gathering. He reminded them that “it was not an accident” that “just a handful of men would choose Easter to rise up” as Easter is a day of resurrection. “Our country is and was a land of saints and scholars, a holy island.” In a strident voice, Msgr. Moloney said the “mandate of 1916…has not yet been accomplished.” He said the civil rights that Bobby Sands died for have not yet been attained in the north. “Keep up the good fight. Keep the banner high,” he said calling for an “Ireland united and free…a nation once again.”
After Mass and before the guest speaker, the original 1916 Proclamation was read in Irish and in English by Maurice Brick and Michael McDermott, respectively.
Cathleen O’Brien, an organizer of the commemoration, also reported to the gathering on abuses in the north including PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) harassment through use of Section 44 to “stop, search and arrest” in republican areas.
Special guest was Lorna Brady of Strabane, County Tyrone, younger sister of John Brady, 40, who died in custody at the Strand Road Barracks in Derry on October 3, 2009. Brady, a well-known republican, had served 18 years in Long Kesh and Maghaberry prisons. He was due for release in November 2009 and had been out on weekend parole when he was involved in a dispute with a brother-in-law. He was picked up in Tyrone by the PSNI/RUC and taken to Derry. The next morning, Brady’s solicitor, John Finucane, visited him. Finucane left Brady in a legal consultation room for 15 or 20 minutes. When he returned, Brady was dead. The PSNI claimed that he had hung himself with shoelaces from a window.
Lorna Brady said that her family strongly disputes the claim that Brady committed suicide, saying that he was in good form when Finucane left him. She said this was the latest in a pattern of harassment of the Brady family which has included death threats of all including an 8-year-old child. Brady said it was an attempt to “demonize” people like her brother who were “true republicans.”
“I am here today to campaign for truth and justice,” said Lorna Brady, who is waiting for results of a PSNI investigation into her brother’s death. “We do not have the rights proclaimed in 1916….Do not forget those who live in Ireland under British rule. Support groups like [Friends of] Irish Freedom and the Republican Network for Unity.”
i would like to know how much does it cost to become a member of Friends of Irish Freedom? please let me know? my address is Mr Dermot McCabe BA 8 Roslea Road Clones Co Monaghan Ireland. Phone 086 0534310.
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