^We cannot have the will of the English people rammed down our throats.”
That was the message from a senior member of Sinn Fein who was speaking at a commemoration event in Derry this afternoon.
Volunteers Sunday is held annually to remember IRA members from the city who died during the Troubles.
Over 1,000 people took part in a march from Central Drive in Creggan to the republican plot in the City Cemetery where newly-elected Sinn Fein Senator Padraig Mac Lochlainn told those present that as a result of Brexit, republicans were now facing a new challenge.
He said: “The English people have voted to leave the European Union but the people of the Six Counties have not.
“We cannot have the will of the English people rammed down our throats, we do not just need a Brexit from Europe, we need a Brexit from Ireland.
“So, like before, friends, brothers and sisters, it is the time to come together again, it is a time for new strategies and a time to look at the island of Ireland and say that we need our independence so that we have the right to have our choices.
“If we want to work in partnership with Europe, with those who struggled for social injustice in Greece, in Spain, in Portugal, and indeed in Germany and Holland – people who share our vision of the world., if we in Ireland choose to work in partnership with them, that is our right..
“So, we must come together now, progressive people across the island of Ireland and demand our independence.
“Isn’t it remarkable that the Scottish First Minister, the leader of the Scottish Nationalist Parky, can declare her desire for Scottish independence and the establishment and the elite say that is ‘understandable’ – but, God forbid, Sinn Fein would demand independence for the Irish people.
“This is our challenge in the time ahead – as Martina Anderson has said time and time again, ‘we stand on the shoulders of giants’.”
Senator Mac Lochlainn concluded: “Look around this graveyard – remember the men and women who came before us, remember their sacrifice, remember what they fought for, remember the Proclamation – let us take this home to have a an independent, 32 county socialist Ireland.”
Amongthose who took part were Sinn Fein Foyle MLA, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, and Sinn Fein MEP, Martina Anderson.
Photo shows today’s march making its way into the City Cemetery.
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