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	THE BALLAD OF RONAN MC LOCHLAINN. The flowers of the field Have returned in their glory. The lily of freedom The sweetest of all. Ah! Well did we choose it To honour the story Of those who were bravest, Of those who would fall. All down through the years When the chains of our slavery Where shattered by those Who would never be slaves. Whose deeds fill our songs While our songs sing their bravery The scent of the lily Lies sweet on their graves. I speak of a man Who would not be persuaded That freedom would come from the stroke of a pen. An Ulsterman proud Who would never have traded The wealth of an empire For one Irish glen. On Bealtaine’s feast They were gathered together The ambush was set And the bloodlust was high. Impatient and eager They strained at the tether For Ronan Mc Lochlainn Was sentenced to die. In life they had feared him His courage and daring Would laugh in the face Of their threats and their gold. A rebel by nature Yet gentle and caring And heir to a conscience That would not be sold. Revenge was the password Their hatred and fury Will haunt all their sleeping And walk by our side And though they will never Face judge or face jury A judgement awaits them That won’t be denied. He lies where the heroes Of Ireland are sleeping Nil aon ait nios naofa Aneas no aniar The memory is sacred And safe in our keeping Of Ronan Mc Lochlainn A true Volunteer.
	A Chairde, Today is one of celebration in many countries. Some are celebrating joining the Europe Union; others salute their working classes as the backbone of any country. Some of these same countries have long been divided under one regime or another but today they celebrate their freedom and nationhood in Europe. Unfortunately a chairde, we are still a divided country. We have a foreign flag flying over that part of our country still occupied by a foreign army. Some may think that in our country the Belfast Agreement was the final solution to the age old conflict in Ireland. Well I can tell you categorically that I do not think so and neither did Ronan. Our day today is one of commemoration for Volunteer Ronan Mc Lochlainn whose young life was so brutally and callously ended on 1st May 1998.
	Statement from Fianna na hEireann. (Ronan Mc Lochlainn Commemoration 1st May 2004.) We of Fianna na hEireann gather here today to honour and remember a solder who was and continues to be an inspiration for all true Republicans. He is sadly missed by all who had the honour of knowing him in life. We cannot merely weep upon the grave of Ronan; we must carry on the struggle for which this gallant man gave his life. The spirit of Volunteer Ronan mc Lochlainn is carried in the heart of every fian and he will never be forgotten. We would like to convey our continued condolences, to the family and friends of Ronan, and to those of all who have given their lives in the Irish war of Liberation. We in Fianna na hEireann wish to state our full support for the Irish Republican Prisoners of War. These men and women have been imprisoned by an establishment which illegally occupies part of our country and by a puppet government which claims to represent the whole people of Ireland. Echoes of the Civil War can still be heard as some Irishmen sentence their fellow countrymen to imprisonment and others murder them in cold blood, cutting them down in the street as they did Volunteer Ronan Mc Lochlainn. We look forward to the growth of Fianna na hEireann throughout the 32 Counties of Ireland and urge the youth of Ireland to rally to the Republican cause. Do not be intimidated by the harassment and threats from our enemies, they may lock us up but they will never shut us up!
	DECLARATION ON BEHALF OF FIANNA NA HEIREANN (Easter 2004) We have decided after several weeks of discussion to revive Fianna na hEireann in the Dublin area. It is also our intention to attempt to restore Fianna na hEireann to the 4 provinces of Ireland. as follows: A Company will cover the province of Leinster B Company will cover the province of Connacht C Company will cover the province of Munster D Company will cover the province of Ulster i.e. the 9 counties of Ulster which rightfully belong to the Irish Republic. We are aware that hard work lies before us, however we are also aware of isolated pockets of young Republicans throughout the four provinces which we are sure can be brought into a national organisation of Irish youth, to play their role in protecting the aims of the Republican movement and cultural education. We call upon the youth of Ireland not to be fooled, or allow their minds to be infected by the political poison of compromised Republicans. We do not wish the Fianna to be a political party or organisation, but involved solely in the national question and to develop the youth of Ireland as an intellectual and physically strong organised body of resistance. Membership is open to all race, creed and religion, however only persons of the highest character will be accepted. The concept of social justice will predominate throughout all ranks. The Fianna will be a disciplined and uniformed organisation who will up hold the principals of the Fianna of legend which are to defend Ireland from all forces of invasion, occupation and colonisation. We would like to state a simple, but direct message to the occupying forces of Britain that we of the Fianna will continue to resist British rule in Ireland, until they remove their soldiers from our streets, until they remove their politically motivated police force from our streets and until they remove their rag from our country. Fianna na hEireann will accept nothing short of a full military and political withdrawal from the island of Ireland. We call upon the youth of Ireland to rally in support of the restoration of political status to all Republican prisoners of war. We say to the youth do not be silent for to be silent is to fall into the category of compromised Republicans, an accessory to British rule in Ireland. These men and women have been labelled by the British and Irish establishments as murderers, as criminals, as fools. We call upon the afore mentioned establishments to state that if they really believe that after over 800 years of oppression, torment and murder that we will surrender our cause. After over 800 years of cruel and unjust laws that we will surrender our cause. After 800 years of occupation and the continued occupation of six counties of Ireland that we will surrender our cause. For if they do then they are most certainly the fools. Signed by Fianna na hEireann General Head Quarters