By Nikki Ulasowski
BODENSTOWN, Ireland — Ten thousand people from around Ireland attended the annual Wolfe Tone commemoration here on June 22. The large procession, piped and drummed along by marching bands representing many communities, wound its way to the local cemetery on the outskirts of town. Speakers at the rally included Sinn Féin TD (MP) Caoimhghín O Caoláin and Martin McGuinness, MP.
Theobald Wolfe Tone was described by McGuinness as the father of Irish Republicanism and a leader who continues to inspire the Republican movement. He was one of the founders of the United Irishmen, formed in 1791. This movement became "the first major Irish radical and anti-imperialist movement, a movement which was both nationalist and internationalist".
Attendance at the rally was significantly larger than in previous years, demonstrating the increased support for Sinn Féin, particularly among young people, which was also evident in the recent round of elections throughout Ireland.
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams told Green Left Weekly: "We know that we took first time voters' votes, right across all of the elections, in the north and in the south. I think it is a sign that young people here want change and that they are fed up with what has passed for politics for a very long time, and they see Sinn Féin as a party which can bring about change."
The increased electoral support has also been due to its broader involvement in grassroots politics, Adams said. "Sinn Féin is a campaigning party. We are a party that has worked alongside interest groups and communities and others, to put the issue of equality on the political agenda, and I think that's one of our strengths."
Speaking at the commemoration, Caoimhghín O Caoláin said, "This [week] I enter Leinster House to formally take our seat. I do so very conscious of the sacrifice of so many over the years, and the continuing sacrifice and suffering of so many and of our commitment to move the situation forward, to the realisation of freedom, of justice and of peace, for all the people of this island. That is our commitment."