The Centenary Commemoration of the Clonfin Ambush Sunday, 26 September 2021

Описание: Clonfin Centenary Commemoration, held 26 September 2021
The centenary of the Clonfin ambush was commemorated on the weekend of 25-26 September*, with events at the site of the battle. The events are being organised by Longford County Council, in partnership with the Clonfin Commemoration Committee, as part of the Decade of Centenaries Programme.

The ambush was one of the major actions in the War of Independence in Longford and the wider region. Members of the North Longford Flying Column, led by Seán MacEoin, defeated a party of Auxiliaries on 2 February 1921. Four of the Auxiliaries died as a result of the action. Aside from the ambush being successful from a tactical point of view, it was also notable for the humanity with which the column members treated the defeated men. They tended the wounded and allowed the dead and injured to be taken back to Longford.

Order of ceremony:
Parade from assembly point on Granard side, with:
Defence Forces Colour Party, led by Capt. Robert Pakenham;
members of the Peter Keenan Longford Branch of the Organisation of National Ex-Service Personnel;
Longford Pipe Band;
the sons and daughters of members of the North Longford Flying Column, who served at Clonfin;
elected representatives.

Present on the site: Band of 2 Brigade, Irish Defence Forces, led by Captain Thomas Kelly.

MC: Sheila Reilly, Head of Editorial Development, Irish Examiner

Order of ceremony:
1. Opening address by Cllr Peggy Nolan, Cathaoirleach, LCC 02:50
2. Wreath laying by Bridgie Burns (daughter of Pat Cooke); 05:40
minute of silence;
Last Post sounded; 07:00
Raising of the national flag with Cllr Nolan and Michael Finn, (nephew of Seamus Farrelly); 08:10
Reveille; 08:45
National Anthem played by the Band of the 2nd Brigade.

3. Roll of Honour, to be read by Bridgie Clancy, daughter of Larry Geraghty, and Tara O’Neill, granddaughter of Micheal Francis Reynolds.
4. Address by Prof. Marie Coleman (Queen’s University Belfast)
Prof. Marie Coleman of Queen's University Belfast is a leading historian of the Irish Revolution. A native of Castlepollard, Co. Westmeath, she is the author of County Longford and the Irish Revolution, 1910-1923 and several other publications. Her recent research has focused on the award of military service pensions, compensation awarded to civilians for personal injury and damage to property during the revolutionary years, violence experienced by women during the War of Independence and the southern Protestant depopulation between 1911 and 1926. She is a frequent contributor to media productions on the War of Independence.
5. Ecumenical prayer service with Fr Simon Cadam, PP of Granard, and Rev. Christiaan Snell, minister-in-charge of the Edgeworthstown group of parishes.
6. Reflection: Eileen Boyle will read a poem entitled ‘Twenty-one men’ by Sr Maeve Brady (daughter of Tom Brady)
7. Music by the Band of the 2nd Brigade


*The centenary commemoration was deferred to September due to COVID-19 restrictions.