Republicans across Ireland gathered this week to honour their dead and defend the legacy of those who gave their lives in the struggle, amid renewed controversy over provocative loyalist attempts to hurt the families of those who died.

The sister of one of the eight IRA Volunteers killed during the Loughgall ambush has condemned the flying of an SAS flag at the site where the men died as a hate crime.

Mairead Kelly was speaking after the flag was erected close to where nine people, includiung an innocent civilian, were shot dead. Her brother, Óglach Patrick Kelly, was among those killed in a targeted shoot-to-kill massacre.

As in previous years, loyalists in Loughgall erected a flag glorifying the murderous British Army regiment ahead of the anniversary.

“Personally I find it relentless and distressing that it is allowed to happen every year and no one is held accountable,“ she said.

“The only people this affects are the families left behind who have not only to deal with the loss of their loved one but also this level of directed hatred.

“Nowhere else would this be permitted - I believe it is a hate crime and should be dealt with as such.”

The controversy intensified further after an AI-generated video appearing to mock the victims of the massacre following a loyalist parade in the village last Friday.

The parade coincided with the anniversary of the SAS ambush on May 8 1987.

Ms Kelly said the video was deeply offensive and questioned how such material would be received if republicans produced something similar.

“It’s disgusting, the lowest of the low thing to do, to make fun of people who have died,” she said. “I wonder if anyone who does this has actually lost anybody.”

Despite the incitement, republicans gathered at Drumferrer to commemorate the eight Volunteers in what was described as a “a dignified and fitting tribute to the Loughgall Martyrs”. Organisers stated that “Thirty-nine years on their courage, sacrifice and legacy remain firmly in the hearts of republicans across Ireland.”

 

Elsewhere, republicans in Cork also gathered to honour IRA Volunteer Tony Ahern, who was killed on active service in Roslea, County Fermanagh, on May 10 1973, becoming the first Volunteer from the 26 Counties to fall during that phase of the struggle.

Speaking at the memorial, former Sinn Féin MEP Martina Anderson paid tribute to Tony Ahern as “a young working-class man from Mayfield, an athlete, a friend, a son and neighbour, who made the extraordinary decision to stand against injustice at a defining time in our history.”

She added: “Like many of his generation, he witnessed the brutality of British rule in Ireland: the attacks on civil rights marchers, the burning of homes, internment, Ballymurphy and Bloody Sunday. He refused to stand aside while fellow Irish men, women and children were denied their rights in their own country.”

 

Meanwhile, tributes have also been paid following the death of well-known Derry republican Gerry ‘Meeks’ Meehan, described by friends and comrades as “one of the kindest, most genuine human beings”.

The former IRA prisoner and long-standing Sinn Féin activist passed away this week, with Martina Anderson saying news of his death had sent “shockwaves throughout the city”.

“Everyone has their own story, their own memory, but the thread running through them all is the same - Gerry was one of the kindest, most genuine human beings anyone had the honour of knowing,” she said.

 

The funeral also took place this week of legendary Provisional IRA Volunteer Sean Clinton from the Ormeau Road area of Belfast.

Sean was a widely respected Republican in Belfast’s Lower Ormeau, Market, and Short Strand areas. He was immortalised in the iconic photo known as “The Last Gunman”, taken in the 1990s as the IRA defended the Lower Ormeau area against Loyalist and Crown Force incursions.

Following news of his death, one friend said Sean “fought from the front”.

He was linked in the media to the execution of senior loyalist paramilitaries Joe Bratty and Raymond Elder, after they had carried out several sectarian killings, including the Sean Graham bookmaker’s massacre in 1992 in which five people were killed.

His coffin, draped in the Irish tricolour, was led by a lone piper along the Andersonstown Road ahead of the funeral service.

During the service, Sean Clinton remembered as “a proud republican, a loyal friend and proud family man who never shied away from having an opinion.” He was laid to rest in Milltown Cemetery on Monday morning.