National - Event Notice
Thursday January 01 1970
Release Republican Prisoners- Vigil at Leinster House, Kildare Street -1.30PM
1.30PM Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2
There are currently Republican prisoners held in both Castlerea and Portlaoise prisons.
Four POWs, imprisoned in Castlerea, are qualifying prisoners under the Good Friday agreement and should have been released long ago.
The Dublin government is in breach of its commitments under that agreement and must release these prisoners if they are to live up to their obligations under the Good Friday Agreement.
Seven more prisoners remain imprisoned in Portlaoise for IRA membership, despite the fact the IRA in 2005 declared an end to its armed campaign. Surely all IRA prisoners should now be released?
Instead of this, eight years after the Good Friday Agreement and over a year after the IRA formally ended its campaign, IRA prisoners remain in prison.
If we are to move beyond conflict these people must be released.
The Dublin and London governments must be held accountable for keeping these people in prison in breach of the Good Friday Agreement and for failing to support the decision by the IRA to end its armed campaign.
We will continue to campaign on this issue with both governments until the last republican POW is out.
This is an issue for everybody to deal with and we are asking people concerned to help us in our campaign, by writing a letter to your local representatives, Senators and Clergy, or by attending future events calling for the release of Republican POWs.
26 County Republican POW List
Castlerea Prison: Kevin Walsh, Pearse McCauley, Gerry Sheehy, Michael O’Neill, Sean Kind.
Portlaoise Prison: Stephen Birney, Thomas Gilsen, John Troy, Patrick Brennan, Seán O’Donnell, Niall Binéad, Ken O’ Donohue.
Prison addresses:
Republican Political Prisoner, Castlerea Prison, Co. Roscommon, Ireland.
Republican Political Prisoner, Portlaoise Prison, Portlaoise, Co. Laoise, Ireland.
national |
rights, freedoms and repression |
event notice
Tuesday December 12, 2006 14:36
by Tadhg
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Comments (2 of 2)
Jump To Comment: 1 2By Seosamh Mac An Ultaigh, Tyrone
I WRITE this letter with deep sadness and great anger.
Sad that many honourable republicans are being hoodwinked and cajoled into accepting a British agenda by a leadership who are using the loyalty that the grass roots have shown throughout the years of struggle and suffering.
Anger at a leadership expert at total in-house control with no room for criticism or another point of view.
I am not a dissident (I count myself mainstream) but I am a free thinker and speak as I see it.
Myself and another 12 ex-prisoners, internees, blanket men where I live have never been asked our thoughts on the policing issue. Why?
So much for the in-depth discussions the movement is supposed to have with all the republican family – not just members of Sinn Fein.
We are bombarded with clichés like “You have to see the bigger picture” as if we are incapable of having a constructive or alternative view to that of the leadership.
The leadership vowed there would never be a ‘rusty bullet’ handed over to the British.
What did they get in return for ecommissioning?
Nothing – Paisley just moved on to his next demand – policing.
So after the surrender of all its arms the leadership is asking republicans to take up arms again but this time in a six-county police force.
A force involved in the slaughter of republicans in particular in Armagh and Tyrone.
A force under investigation for 75 killings.
A force whose members by their own admission used child informers.
A force that batoned us at the funerals of our republican dead.
A force that brutalised us in its interrogation centres – including some of the dead hungerstrikers who were forced to implicate themselves under torture.
It is ironic that 25 years after beating Thatcher’s criminalisation policy – with 10 of the bravest dead on hunger strike – republicans are going to criminalise themselves by joining and supporting such a tainted force?
As an ex-prisoner who spent years on the blanket, all of this is deeply hurtful and nearly beyond belief. The six-county police force is obligated under British law to uphold and enforce (under arms) the constitutional position and that, of course, is partition.
If Sinn Fein supports or joins the six-county police force, a vote for Sinn Fein will then be a vote for maintaining partition.
It’s as serious as that.
All republicans should keep that firmly in mind at election time.
That is why the DUP are hell bent on getting Sinn Fein signed up for policing.
It will copper-fasten their border and put up another barrier to re-unification.
As my Uncle used to say, Sinn fein sold out years ago.