Leitrim to remember Republican John Joe McGirl at annual commemoration this weekend

People from Leitrim and the surrounding counties are set to gather in Ballinamore on Saturday, August 16, to remember John Joe McGirl, almost 37 years after his death. 

He was a legendary figure in both Leitrim’s and Ireland’s Republican history.

Last year’s commemoration saw a record number of people in attendance since the Republican’s death in 1988, drawing over two thousand people.

This year’s parade will take place starting at the Square in Ballinamore at 8pm. The parade will be led by the Mountain Road Pipe Band from Teemore in Fermanagh, and the oration will be delivered by Donegal TD Pearse Doherty, one of the best-known and respected deputies in the Dáil.

Following the commemoration, there will be an Irish night with the Spirit of Freedom group in McGirl’s. In the case of inclement weather, the commemoration will be held in the Community Hall.

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John Joe McGirl and Seán MacDiarmada were two of the most famous men from Leitrim who were prominent in the struggle for independence and unity throughout the centuries.

John Joe dedicated his life to resisting British rule in Ireland, serving terms of imprisonment, mostly without trial, at the Curragh in the 1940s and 1950s, and later in Long Kesh in the 1970s.

He was also elected as a TD in the 1957 General Election and was elected to Leitrim County Council in 1960. He was highly respected by people of all political persuasions. 

McGirl remained a councillor until his death in December 1988, after which his son Liam McGirl was co-opted to the position.

Fittingly, John Joe’s memory is commemorated in his hometown of Ballinamore each year with a parade from John McGahern Square to the McGirl monument, located at the other end of the town beside the bridge crossing the Shannon-Erne Waterway at the entrance to Ballinamore.

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Last year’s event was also led by the Mountain Road Pipe Band, and an oration was delivered by John Finucane, MP for Belfast North.