International Brigade Memorial Trust
Saturday 15 October: The AGM
Members should assemble at 2pm sharp for a wreath-laying ceremony at the Connolly monument, directly opposite Liberty Hall. Members must take their seats for the AGM no later than 2.30pm. At 3pm the AGM will be addressed by the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins (pictured).
Saturday 15 October: IBMT fundraising social
The IBMT social will take place at 8pm on Saturday night in the Teachers' Club, 36 Parnell Square West, just to the north of O'Connell Street; admission €10. This IBMT social will include a special performance of music, poetry and song, re-visiting Peadar Kearney’s lesser-known composition, The Devil’s Crew, which was inspired by his own experiences of Easter Week 1916. This lively and entertaining performance has been written and directed by Des Geraghty and will be introduced by Eva Kearney, grand-daughter of Peadar Kearney – who himself is best known as the author of Ireland’s national anthem.
Sunday 16 October: Walking tour of 1916 city centre battle sites
A city centre walking tour, specially tailored for IBMT members, has been arranged for Sunday morning. Meeting at 11.45am at the Grafton Street entrance to St Stephen's Green, this two-hour long tour will be conducted by Lorcan Collins, visiting the city centre sites occupied by James Connolly's Irish Citizen Army during the 1916 Rising – the College of Surgeons, the City Hall, and the GPO – and culminating in Moore Street, where the last stand took place; cost: €10 per person.
Friday 14 October: Spanish Republic solidarity plaque unveiling at 5.30pm
Unite the Union invites members to the unveiling of the plaque that commemorates the solidarity between the AT&GWU and the Spanish Republic 1936-39. The original plaque was unveiled by Jack (James Larkin) Jones in October 1996. The unveiling will be carried out by Jimmy Kelly and Manus O’Riordan in Unite House, 55-56 Middle Abbey Street, Dublin (off O'Connell Street). Light refreshments available. RSVP Janet.Murphy@unitetheunion.org so that numbers attending are known in advance.
Friday 14 October: Get-together in the evening
Members who wish to socialise in the city centre on Friday evening should meet in the bar of the Teachers' Club, venue of the IBMT social the following night. Also meeting in another room in the Teachers' Club on Friday night – commencing 9pm; admission €3 – will be the Góilín Traditional Singer's Club. This is a club for unaccompanied ballad singing and listening – with no conversation during song performances. So, members can choose between conversation in the bar, or listening to club singers. Members are advised that, as matters stand on 28 September, there is a one-day bus strike scheduled for Friday 14 October.
1916 Rising exhibitions
Members with free time during other periods of the weekend have the opportunity to visit two major 1916 Rising exhibitions, both in O'Connell Street:
– ‘1916 GPO Witness History’, open each day, at the GPO; see www.thejournal.ie/gpo-witness-history-2635665-Mar2016 for a review.
– ‘Revolution 1916’, open Friday and Saturday only, at the Ambassador Theatre; see www.puremzine.com/revolution-1916-at-the-ambassador-theatre-dublin for a review. Please note that Saturday 15 October 15 is the final day of this particular exhibition.
NB: For more information about the Annual General Meeting, including the agenda, Executive Committee report and proposed changes to the IBMT constitution, see www.international-brigades.org.uk/content/notice-annual-general-meeting
Posted on 29 September 2016
