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Showing posts with label 1916 Societies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1916 Societies. Show all posts
1916 Societies🪑are hosting an event in Strabane.

Join us for an evening with Seamus Kearney as he shares a hard-hitting account of his pursuit to uncover the truth behind the execution of his brother, Michael Kearney, and the complex network that surrounded the treacherous figure known as 'Stakeknife'.

Date: Friday 26th April

Time: 7:30pm

Location: The Fir Trees, Strabane

Hosted by: The Local 1916 Societies


This event will dig deep into the depths of state sponsored murder and corruption, offering unique insights into the dual roles played by key figures at the time. Kearney's story is one of determination, as he navigates through layers of secrecy to seek the truth and uncover ‘Stakeknife’

What to Expect:

* An in-depth look at the counter-insurgency war and the murky role of 'Stakeknife'.

* A personal and moving narrative of brotherhood and betrayal, vividly brought to life through Kearney's experiences, as chronicled in his book, "No Greater Love."

* Insights into Kearney's journey from a young volunteer to an IRA staff officer and his harrowing time on the blanket protest in the H-Blocks, and his firsthand account of the 1981 hunger strike.

* An open Q&A session where Seamus Kearney will discuss the broader themes of the war.

We look forward to hosting an event that promises to challenge perceptions and reveal the extreme measures the British state and their agents were prepared to take to infiltrate, disrupt, and destroy the IRA. Exposing how they turned a blind eye to torture and murder to protect the identity of Stakeknife.

Kearney's book "No Greater Love" serves as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of oppression and is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the epic struggle of the Blanket Protest and Hunger Strike of 1981.

Spread the Word.

No Greater Love



Seamus Kearney is a former Blanketman and author of  
No Greater Love - The Memoirs of Seamus Kearney.

A Journey Through Shadows - Exposing 'Stakeknife'

Responding to an upcoming history project, focusing on Clady Bridge, the Joseph Plunkett Society Clady-Glebe have forwarded a brief overview of the bridge’s role in Republican struggle in the area.



With Clady Bridge in the headlines locally, due to the Finnish Project’s upcoming ‘Voicing the Bridge’ initiative (which forms part of this year’s village festival), as local Republicans we thought it important to reflect on the Republican history of the bridge — to give semblance to its role in the struggle for freedom down and across the years. Indeed, for us, no project that claims to give ‘voice’ to the bridge could possibly be complete in its absence.

From full-scale gun and mortar attacks on Crown Forces, stretching back not only to the 1970s but through earlier phases of the struggle, to the British Army’s attempts to close off the bridge — in a futile effort to contain Republican struggle in the area — Clady Bridge has been the epicentre of the Republican war for freedom in the West Tyrone-East Donegal command area.

When the British attempted to crater the bridge, in the September of ‘71, they met with ferocious resistance. Volunteer soldiers opened up from the river bank, with a sustained gun battle ensuing. The British soon beat a hasty retreat. Thinking they would try their dirty work a second time, the British succeeded in cratering the road — until locals again showed them different. Opening fire from automatic rifles, the IRA drove out the enemy. The community filled the craters back in while the Sassanach licked their wounds.

The enemy’s checkpoint, at the bridge, was blew up in the ‘70s and three times further the following decade. Foot patrols, too, were regularly harried — they weren’t even safe in their helicopter gun ships. Throughout the war years, the banks of the river were used for smuggling materiel, with the ‘odd’ mother walking through the checkpoint with weapons under the child in her pram. Through support as this from the local community, the Army maintained its offensive against the occupation.

No historical reflection on the bridge could fail to recount the tragic death of IRA Volunteer Jim McGinn —  Staff Captain, West Tyrone Command, Óglaigh na hÉireann. In an echo of the deaths of Reynolds, Kelly and McCafferty, at nearby Stranamuck in the ‘30s, he was killed when a bomb he was transporting exploded prematurely as he crossed the bridge.

While countless stories and occasions can be recalled in regard to the bridge and its immediate environs, of its storied role in the Republican struggle — some well known, others perhaps never to be told — we hope this brief snapshot reflects its importance to the spirit and culture of the local community. The Clady-Cloughfin area played a full role in the fight to secure the Irish Republic and for this we are eternally proud.

As the British Government’s Irish policy once more pulls the border, on which stands Clady Bridge, into the foreground, we salute all who have played their part along the way. We pledge ourselves to continue their struggle, that this generation might realise the noble object for which so many gave of their efforts, down through those long hard years — the Irish Republic. 

An Phoblacht Abú.

Voicing The Bridge

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