Padraig Mac Piarias Ogra Fianna Fail AGM

The Annual General Meeting of the Padraig Mac Piarias Ogra Fianna Fail recently took place in Templemore. The Padraig Mac Piarias Ogra Fianna Fail covers the areas of Templemore, Roscrea and Borrisoleigh and this year saw the branch celebrate ten years of activity since its relaunch back in April 2001. The Chairman, Mr. Brian Madden addressing the meeting spoke on a wide number of issues. He began by recalling the actions of the men and women of 1916. He stated that “The years leading up to and after 1916 were turbulent ones , however in the face of adversity and the might of the British Empire the Volunteers stood firmly to their cause as the believed in something better for their fellow countrymen and women.”  In the Proclamation they aspire to a Republic which guarantees religious and civil liberties, equal rights, equal opportunities and the pursuit of happiness and prosperity of the whole nation. A Republic is defined as a state in which the sovereign power rests in the whole body of the people and is exercised by representatives elected by them. In a respectful Commemoration of the Easter Rising, we must not let ourselves become slaves to history and that we must recognise the place our Republic has now amongst the larger more constructive union of the European Union. Unlike the momentous task undertaken by the Volunteers, we too have a momentous task, although fiscal in nature, our sheer financial independence has been put in jeopardy. Due to these financial issues the disease of emigration has come back to haunt our nation’s children where we see our friends leave for a better future. Some will make a new life in Australia or America and may merely return to Ireland on holiday whilst others we may not see again. A stinging indictment of a political system that failed and which history will not and should not ever forget. On the 25 of February the Irish people left behind the old mantle of Civil war politics and voted for a change of Government. The people who voted Fianna Fail in the past are now voting Fine Gael, a change not foreseen a few short years ago. This I believe was a welcome opportunity for the Irish people to exercise the democratic right and as a result Fianna Fail must now re-examine itself and connect with the people like what figures such as Lemass and De Valera could do. The capitalist meagre greed which consumed our Republic should never have been given credence as it was not what Pearse, Mc Donagh, Ceannt or we aspired to. The banks in this country exploited the people’s desire to own their own property, a facet unique to Irish people compared to our EU partners to their own advantage as regulators and others stood idly by in the Golf course or the club house marking their score card. It has never been the job of a Government to make a nation great, that is the job, I believe of its people; however a Government must set the appropriate conditions for this to happen. In a few weeks from now the British Queen will visit our Republic, although some may oppose her visit these are people who are fighting old battles and who hijack history and forget fact. We have many links with our nearest neighbours including past figures like James Connolly born in Edinburgh and Countess Markievicz born in London but also our trade and employment links. This I believe is a welcome opportunity to showcase our beautiful country and improve our tourism links. In the coming years we must use the courage and bravery shown by our founding forefathers to overcome our difficulties. On the day before Patrick Pearse execution at his court martial he said we seem to have lost, we have not lost, to refuse to fight would have been to lose, to fight is to win. We have kept faith with the past and handed on a tradition to the future. The following were elected officers for the coming year.  President Seanie Gleeson. Chairman Brian Madden, Secretary Marian Lee, Treasurers Ciara Fanning and Padraic Stapleton. Youth Officer Con McGrath. New members always welcome.