John Joe McGirl – an unbreakable Fenian

In the course of almost 60 years of activism I have been very lucky to meet many wonderful, committed, compassionate republicans. On Saturday, in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, Republicans from Leitrim and beyond will gather to celebrate the life of one of these – John Joe McGirl. The annual John Joe McGirl commemoration is one of the highlights of the Ballinamore Festival Week and the participants will walk from John McGahern Square to the monument to John Joe opposite Amharclann an Oileáin (the Island Theatre). The monument was designed by Robert Ballagh.

A master class on campaigning

Féile an Phobail was a resounding success and in particular it provided a wonderful range of debates and conversations on the many issues surrounding constitutional change. Well done to Harry and Kevin, Sam and all the Féile team. Maith sibh. The quality of the debates was excellent. All were packed out. The breadth of speakers – academics, journalists, political and community activists, sports people, - and the many shades of opinion, including a greater number than before of people from the broadly cultural Unionist/Protestant tradition, was uplifting.