Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Remembering the Battle of Ashbourne

The Meath District Council of SIPTU will commemorate the Centenary of the Battle of Ashbourne, with a series of events in Ashbourne and Navan this Saturday 30th April.
The commemoration will begin with a flag-raising event at the SIPTU Dan Shaw Centre in Navan at 3pm.  This will be followed by a march, which will include the Irish Citizen Army re-enactment Group, to the local 1916 monument.

SIPTU general president, Jack O'Connor, will lay a wreath and deliver a keynote address at the 1916 Monument in Ashbourne at 4.15pm.

The days events will then conclude at the Dan Shaw Centre in Navan with a ceremony to mark the unveiling of a plaque dedicated to the men, women and young people from County Meath who joined the struggle for Irish independence during the revolutionary period.

Historian, Michael Halpenny, will be a guest speaker at the unveiling ceremony.
SIPTU Meath District Council co-ordinator, John Regan, said: '' This event is part of a very successful wider series of commemorations and events to celebrate the 1916 Rising organised by SIPTU.  '' Our union with, its headquarters in Liberty Hall, played a central role in the 1916 Rising.  Those involved in the Battle of Ashbourne on the rebel side were members of the 5th Battalion of the Irish Volunteers and were, in the main, working men, so its very fitting that SIPTU is taking the lead in commemorating this event on the exact date of its centenary.


Source, Meath Chronicle.      

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