Seán Heuston Society ‘Eve Of Republic Day’ Debates A Huge Success

1916 Societies report on an Eve Of Republic Day debate that took place in Dublin last month.

The eve of ‘Republic Day’ saw the first in a series of talks and debates on Irish Unity to be held by the Seán Heuston Society in Dublin.




Three talks were given, with Donal Fallon, a young activist and historian from Dublin, giving the first talk and using the opportunity to speak on what he considered green shoots of recovery for republicanism. He asserted there was a new generation coming through, with huge interest in the Centenary in schools, and advised of school projects he had seen which made clear Dublin schoolkids were not fans of partition!

One of the most anticipated contributions was that of Kieran Conway, author of Southside Provisional, a publicly-educated student of affluent Blackrock College who made the unusual life’s journey into the Provisional IRA. Kieran didn’t mince his words and felt the Good Friday Agreement was a disaster for republicanism, its agreement to the ‘principle of consent’ closing the door to Irish Unity. He didn’t see the same idealism in today’s youth as when he went to school himself in the ’60s.

Before Tommy McKearney gave his talk, a lively debate from the floor ensued following Kieran’s contribution. Tommy in turn used his time to reiterate his call for a Workers’ Republic based on the politics of James Connolly. The discussion also ventured into Britain’s possible exit from the EU (Brexit) and its likely implications for republicanism.

A full video of the debate will appear on our website and social media outlets soon.

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