A republican activist speaking in Galway on Good Friday has said “British rule is stronger than ever” in Ireland.

Ruairí O Brádaigh, President of Republican Sinn Féin, was speaking to fellow activists at the annual Easter 1916 Commemoration at the Liam Mellows memorial in Eyre Square, and at the Republican Plot in Donaghpatrick Cemetery, Headford.

Mr O Brádaigh quoted Ian Paisley as saying that Sinn Féin “can’t be true Republicans when they now accept the right of Britain to govern this country and take part in the government.”

According to Mr O Brádaigh, “True Republicans would not be co-opted into administering British rule through Stormont or collaborating with it through Leinster House”. He said the patriots of 1916 “did not give their lives that the 26-counties should be called ‘Ireland’.”

Mr O Brádaigh also condemned the fact that the English national anthem was played in Croke Park and the possibility of British Royals being made welcome “even as they claimed the right to rule part of our country.”

Mr O Brádaigh also rejected the notion of the Lisbon Treaty, saying Republicans should be at the forefront of the ‘no’ campaign.

However, Sinn Féin’s Galway spokesperson, Anna Marley, said Sinn Féin is working to achieve the goals of 1916 “by engaging with the political institutions both North and South.”

Acknowledging that “such a course is not always easy”, and that cooperation with parties such as the Democratic Unionist  Party (DUP) has its difficulties, Ms Marley pointed out that even in Galway local politicians “are sometimes unable to put their differences aside when important decision outcomes are required concerning local issues.”

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