Successful Fianna Commemoration

dublin | miscellaneous | news report Tuesday August 18, 2009 10:36 by éirígí pro - éirígí

Over 100 people attended éirígí events marking the 100th anniversary of Fianna Éireann over the weekend in Dublin city centre, the historical birthplace of the youth movement.

Over 100 people attended éirígí events marking the 100th anniversary of Fianna Éireann over the weekend in Dublin city centre, the historical birthplace of the youth movement.

Saturday’s public meeting heard from éirígí general secretary Breandán Mac Cionnaith, Damian Lawlor, author of the recently published Na Fianna Éireann and the Irish Revolution, and éirígí activist Samantha Ní Mhurchú.

Lawlor gave a detailed account of the Fianna’s history and the central role it played in the revolutionary struggle in the early part of the last century.

Ní Mhurchú delivered a speech on the role played by Constance Markievicz in the formation of the Fianna, shedding interesting light on the lengthy process by which the organisation was formed.

Breandán Mac Cionnaith, meanwhile, focused on the broader role young people have played in the republican struggle in Ireland.

There was then a lively question and answer session between the audience and the panel, which continued into the night’s entertainment.

Sunday morning provided a further opportunity to learn more about the origins of the Fianna, as éirígí hosted a historical tour of Pádraig Pearse’s pioneering gaelscoil, Scoil Éanna. Those in attendance learned of the relationship between Pearse’s radical vision of an Irish education system and how many members of the Fianna studied and learnt their revolutionary trade while in attendance at the school.