Republicans attending a 1916 Societies commemoration in Co Derry have been told the Good Friday Agreement has “failed to deliver any tangible progress towards an all-Ireland republic”.
Several hundred people from across the north and beyond attended an Easter Rising commemoration in the village of Bellaghy on Sunday, including members of Éirígí.
It emerged earlier this year that Éirígí and 1916 Societies have formed a “strategic alliance” resulting in the emergence of a new ‘Republican Bloc’.
A piper led those attending through the village to St Mary’s Cemetery, where IRA hunger strikers Francis Hughes and Thomas McElwee are buried.
1916 Societies chairman Pol O’Scannell. Picture Margaret McLaughlin (MARGARET MCLAUGHLIN PHOTOGRAPHY )
The grave of ex-INLA chief Dominic McGlinchey is also located in the cemetery.
The main address was delivered by1916 Societies chair Pól O’Scannell.
He recounted how both his grandfathers had played a part in the events of Easter Week 109 years ago.
The Dublin republican offered solidarity to the people of Palestine and backed calls by the family of murdered Bellaghy GAA official Sean Brown for a public inquiry.
Turning to the issue of unity, Mr O’Scannell said the British have used several “pacification strategies” since the Troubles ended, including the peace process.
But, he said the “Good Friday Agreement has failed to deliver any tangible progress towards an all-Ireland republic.”
“That was its raison d’etre – to yet again pacify Ireland
He warned that future attempts may be made to make Ireland a member of the British Commonwealth.
“Those who went into Stormont to implement the Good Friday Agreement and its numerous tweaks have found themselves welded to Britain’s continued subjection of this part of Ireland and of our democratic rights,” he said.
“The call for Irish unity and the Irish republic has been diluted to a call for an agreed Ireland or shared island with the very real prospect of the return to membership of the British Commonwealth for all 32 counties.
“I want to state very clearly here today, we will never, ever accept the British Commonwealth.”
Parade by the 1916 Societies through Bellaghy on Easter Sunday. Picture Margaret McLaughlin 20-4-2025 (MARGARET MCLAUGHLIN PHOTOGRAPHY )
He added that a “shared island concept is the polar opposite of republicanism”.
“It sets a dangerous precedent of accepting the British narrative that there are two separate nations on this island,” he said.
“It gives legitimacy to the British government’s analysis that unionists are the British presence in Ireland.”
The 1916 Societies has promoted a highly visible ‘One Ireland One Vote’ campaign, which calls for a single referendum on a united Ireland.
Mr O’Scannell said “the Irish people alone must decide our own future without interference from the British.
Elsewhere in Co Derry a commemoration organised by the counties Derry and Antrim Republican Graves Association was held in The Loup.
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