Bree Condemns U.S. Use of Shannon Airport

The use of Shannon Airport as a gateway for U.S. troops en route to the war in Iraq is an affront to the wishes of the vast majority of the Irish people who have consistently opposed the war, said the former Mayor of Sligo, Alderman Declan Bree, when he spoke at the Connolly Forums annual Easter 1916 Commemoration Ceremony in Sligo on Easter Sunday

Led by flag-bearers carrying the Tri-colour and the Plough and the Stars, upwards on 70 people marched from Cairns Drive to the Republican Plot in Sligo cemetery to hear Alderman Bree deliver the oration.
Mr Brian Scanlon who presided at the ceremony told those attending "this 90TH anniversary of the rising provides us with the opportunity to highlight the political views of Connolly and Pearse and the other leaders of the Rising and it provides us with an opportunity to revisit the founding principles of the Republic with a view to attaining the aspirations contained in the 1916 Proclamation and the Democratic Programme of the first Dail.
Mr John Dunne, Sligo, recited the 1916 Proclamation.
Following the oration as a lone piper played a lament, Ms Brenda Barr, laid a wreath on behalf of the Executive of the Connolly Forum.
The ceremony concluded with the National Anthem.

From "Sligo Champion" 19/4/2006