1916 Societies

31/10/2026

The 1916 Societies are saddened by the loss of our dear friend, comrade and founding member, Noel Quinn. Our condolences to his wife, Caroline, his daughters, Aoife and Cara, and the wider family circle.

Noel was a dedicated republican who joined the blanket protest as a teenager. A fearless opponent of British rule in Ireland, Noel served 3 terms as a defiant and unbroken Irish POW. Throughout Noel's selfless years of Active Service, he remained steadfast and unrepentant, never wavering in his rejection of British Authority on our island.

Noel was instrumental in the founding of the 1916 Societies and in keeping alive the spirit of resistance to foreign occupation in the East Tyrone area; he understood the importance of holding the flame of resistance and building for the youth of today to carry that forward and achieve British withdrawal and the liberation of the Irish people.

Suaimnneas Sioraí

29/10/2026

The message is clear🔥🇮🇪

27/10/2026

27/10/2026

SERBIA STUDENTS SHOWS WHAT YOUTH POWER CAN ACHIEVE. IRELAND MUST SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY.

The student movement in Serbia has shown the power of a generation refusing to accept the political status quo. There is a lesson here for Irish republicanism.

For over a century, partition has denied the Irish people the opportunity to exercise our right to national self-determination as one nation. Westminster still holds the power to determine when the people of Ireland may be permitted to vote on our own future.

Now there is a huge opportunity for Ireland’s youth to change the course of history. The same generation that has mobilised so powerfully in solidarity with Palestine must recognise that the struggle for self-determination applies to Ireland too.

Through the 1916 Societies One Ireland One Vote campaign, we are building a grassroots movement across all 32 counties, harnessing digital technology, building towards an all-Ireland people’s referendum without British permission, interference or veto.

We cannot leave the unfinished business of Irish freedom to political parties that have accepted partition. Nor can we wait for crumbs off Westminster’s table, to grant what belongs to the Irish people by right.

The task is to organise, mobilise and challenge the status quo.
The youth of Ireland have an opportunity to make history.
Let us turn the demand for freedom into a youth movement that cannot be ignored.🇮🇪

24/10/2026

WITHDRAW THE BID!

The weather may well have been against us, but that didn’t stop people from turning out in Strabane to make their voices heard!

The Joseph Plunkett 1916 Society and the wider 1916 Societies commends everyone who braved the wind and rain to take part in today’s white line picket.

Today’s turnout showed strong determination from those opposed to Strabane being labelled a UK Town of Culture.

Our position remains unchanged. We call on our political representatives in Derry City and Strabane District Council to listen to the people.

The message from today’s picket was loud and clear:

WITHDRAW THE BID!

Go raibh maith agaibh uilig! 🇮🇪

21/10/2026

"We have been told, we have been asked to hope, that after this war Ireland will get home rule, as a reward for the lifeblood shed in a cause which, whoever else its success may benefit, can surely not benefit Ireland. And what will home rule be in return for what its vague promise has taken and still hopes to take away from Ireland?

It is not necessary to climb the painful stairs of Irish history, that treadmill of a nation whose labours are in vain for her own uplifting, as the convict's exertions are for his redemption, to review the long list of British promises made only to be broken, of Irish hopes raised only to be dashed to the ground. Home Rule, when it comes, if come it does, will find an Ireland that is drained of all that is vital to its very existence unless it be that unquenchable hope that we build on the graves of our dead. We are told that if Irishmen go by the thousands to die not for Ireland but for Flanders, for Belgium, for a patch of sand on the deserts of Mesopotamia or a rocky trench on the heights of Gallipoli, they are winning self-government for Ireland”.

But if they dare to lay down their lives on their native soil, if they dare to dream even that freedom can be won only at home by men resolved to fight for it there, then they are traitors to their country, and their dream and their deaths alike are phases of a dishonourable fantasy."

Delivered on June 29, 1916, at the Old Bailey in London, Roger Casement's speech from the dock was a defiant address made after he was convicted of high treason for his role in the 1916 Easter Rising. Casement's writings, over a century later, are still as relevant as ever!

21/10/2026

Tonight the Dublin Government will debate an amendment to the Defence Bill which will effectively do away with the Triple Lock. This move is just the latest by Fianna Gael to SCRAP IRISH NEUTRALITY through the death of a thousands cuts. Will you let them? !

Over the past number of years the Dublin government has made multiple efforts to try and draw this state a military alliance - this being either an EU military alliance, or a NATO military alliance.

The Dublin government knows full-well that the Irish people support neutrality! They know that if they went to the people and ask the people do they want to abandon neutrality, they know they would lose that referendum in a landslide.

So instead of going the democratic route and asking the people whether they want to retain neutrality or not, they have decided to try and kill neutrality through the death of a thousand cuts.

We understand what the Dublin government are at, and we understand that the fight for Irish neutrality cannot wait 2 or 3 or 4 years down the road. We need to stop that process now!

Do you believe neutrality matters? Do you want to defend Irish neutrality?

Join Éirígí and fight to defend Irish neutrality! 👇

eirigi.org/join

20/10/2026

STRABANE — ‘UK’ TOWN OF CULTURE BID

A STATEMENT FROM THE JOSEPH PLUNKETT 1916 SOCIETY

The Joseph Plunkett 1916 Society is launching a public campaign opposing Strabane's participation in the UK Town of Culture competition.

For us, the objection begins with the very title itself. We see this competition as an attempt to celebrate and promote a UK national cultural identity, which directly conflicts with our republican principles and beliefs.

Strabane and the surrounding communities of West Tyrone have a long and proud tradition of Irish republicanism. Generations of men and women from these communities dedicated themselves to the cause of Irish freedom, national sovereignty and the right of the Irish people to determine their own future.

Those principles did not disappear with the passage of time.

As republicans, we remain committed to the ideals of the 1916 Proclamation and the objective of a sovereign, independent, 32-county socialist republic.

It is from that position that we oppose Strabane being promoted under a UK national cultural designation.

We are not opposed to cultural investment, regeneration or opportunities for the people of Strabane and the surrounding areas. But we draw a clear distinction between celebrating our Irish culture and accepting a designation that, from our republican perspective, reinforces and legitimises the very system of British rule and partition that has, for generations, subjected the people of Strabane and communities across the six counties to injustice, discrimination, hardship, suffering and deprivation.

OUR POSITION IS CLEAR: WE ARE CALLING FOR STRABANE'S WITHDRAWAL FROM THE UK TOWN OF CULTURE COMPETITION.

⬇️ Continued Below

20/10/2026

Today and this evening, members of the 1916 societies and the Terence Mac Swiney committee in London. Stood in solidarity with Palestine House in Holborn, West Central London.

Acting once again like zionist puppets, police and bailiffs tried to shut it down, using false allegations that electricity was stolen and not being paid for.

No sooner was this falsehood disproved than they came back, citing health and safety concerns as a reason to cut off the electricity. Tonight people are standing in solidarity both inside and outside Palestine House, awaiting their return; there are rumours they are going to try to disconnect the electricity by digging up the road.

The warrant is in until 12 tomorrow night; the restaurant is open till midnight, so they want presence here in shifts, with reinforcements coming at 2 in the morning. They want people to ring 105 UKPN as concerned citizens at Palestine House about them cutting power. They will say they can’t legally talk about it, but just say you want to log a complaint

There is a call to all those who stand against genocide to come to Palestine House and help prevent any actions that may lead to the cutting off of their electricity. Please come now, as the more people, the better. 🇮🇪✊ 🇵🇸

18/10/2026

📢 OPEN CALL – WHITE LINE PICKET, STRABANE 📢

The Joseph Plunkett 1916 Society calls for community unity in opposition to Strabane being labelled a UK Town of Culture.

This is an open invitation to all Irish citizens, regardless of political affiliation or organisational membership, to come together and reject any attempt to label Strabane as a UK Town of Culture

📍 Assembly: 1916 Stone, Strabane
📅 Saturday 24th October
🕜 1.30pm

🇮🇪 Bring your tricolour, bring your placard and make your voice heard.

This is about the people of Strabane and their right to express their views on the town’s cultural identity.

Our culture. Our identity. 🇮🇪