AN Irish 'wake' is to
be held in Inishowen next month to remember Young
Irelander Thomas D'Arcy McGee who was assassinated
in Canada as a parliamentarian in the late 19th
Century.
Canadian Ambassador to Ireland, Loyola Hearn and
Nobel laureate, John Hume, are among the invited
guests at the event which coincides with the launch
of a new book on D'Arcy McGee's early Irish rebel
years, by Professor David Wilson.
The events, on the weekend of May 4 and May 5, will
take place in the village of Culdaff and nearby
Tremone bay, where the young rebel escaped by boat
in 1848 and where a stone memorial was erected a
number of years ago in his memory.
Thomas D'Arcy McGee was born of Wexford parents in
Carlingford, Co Louth.
He became a father of the Canadian Confederation, a
member of parliament, champion of Irish immigrants,
poet, journalist, orator and Irish historian. After
an early morning session of the Canadian Parliament,
he was assassinated, at the age of 42.
Inishowen-based author Hazel McIntyre, who is
organising the event, said D'Arcy McGee's Irish wake
is "long overdue".
The memorial events will begin on Friday, May 4 at
7pm in McGrory’s, Culdaff, with a ceremony at
Tremone beach the following day, weather permitting. |
