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The duty of Irish republicans is to ‘complete’ the journey towards a new Ireland and a referendum on Irish unity, according to former Sinn F\u00e9in president Gerry Adams.<\/p>\nThe duty of Irish republicans is to ‘complete’ the journey towards a new Ireland and a referendum on Irish unity, according to former Sinn F\u00e9in president Gerry Adams.<\/p>\n
Mr Adams was speaking today at the funeral of former IRA chief of staff Kevin McKenna.<\/p>\n
Mr McKenna died on Tuesday and is widely accepted as being the leader of the Provisional IRA for over a decade in the 80s and 90s.<\/p>\n
Originally from Dungannon, Tyrone, Mr McKenna had lived in Monaghan since the 1970s. He was buried at St Mary\u2019s Church, Magherarney, near Smithborough on Thursday.<\/p>\n
According to the Irish Times Mr Adams, who delivered a graveside oration, said Mr McKenna had shown brave leadership during the first IRA ceasefire in 1994 and “was a republican soldier who had the politics to know when to fight, and the political vision to know when to talk.”<\/p>\n
Mr Adams went on: \u201cThe republican people of the north never went to war. The war came to us.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m mindful of those who have been hurt, and there has been hurt on all sides and healing and reconciliation is needed, but the war is over.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe future is being written now, and as we help to write that future we will not let the past be written in a way which demonizes patriots like Kevin McKenna any more than we would the generations before them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the men and women of 1916 were right,\u201d Gerry Adams said. \u201cI think the H- Block hunger strikers were right. I think Kevin McKenna was right.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the IRA was right, not in everything that it did, but it was right to fight when faced with the the armed aggression of British rule.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turning to the future the Louth TD said the \u201cbig challenges\u201d of today should not be understated, \u201cEven as we gathered here today the so called United Kingdom is disunited, yes we have quarrels to settle with our unionist neighbors and yes partition remains, but republican Ireland remains also, resolute unbowed undefeated and looking to the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went on: \u201cThanks to your efforts, Kevin, and the efforts of many others there is now a growing debate about a new Ireland and a referendum on Irish unity, and thanks to your efforts there is a pathway towards unity. Our duty is to complete that journey.\u201d<\/p>\n