Annual commemoration to heroes
The anniversary of the the deaths of Alderman Thomas Halpin, of Georges Street in Drogheda and Captain John Moran, a native of Enniscorthy in Co Wexford, who was residing in Magdalene Street in Drogheda, were commemorated on Sunday February 11th, with Deputy Mayor Kevin Callan laying a wreath at the monument on the Marsh Road.
He was joined by council colleagues Cllr Declan Power and Paddy McQuillan, along with members of the Drogheda and Slane ONE, who provided a colour party.
The small party gathered to hear a lone bugler play the Last Post, as the two Republican heroes who were murdered were recalled.
Local historian John McCullen was called upon to mark the occasion, giving some context to the event and outlining the importance of remembering these significant men in our past.
“I made the point on the day that the viaduct was looking down on us - the same viaduct that was there that terrible l night – and in a way the stone and iron are still alive, whilst the two men are not,” he relayed. “It is also a time to commemorate the several other names added to the cross, including that of Liam Leech and Harry Fairclough, and of course Larry Grogan too.”
On that fateful Shrove Tues
Deputy Mayor Kevin Callan and elected members take the salute at the Drogheda and Slane ONE.
day night and into the morning of Ash Wednesday back in February 1921, the British Crown Forces raided the homes of these two men and after dragging them to the West Gate Barracks, where they were horrifically beaten, they brought both Halpin and Moran to the Marsh Road, where a third man`s home, that of a Mr Thomas Grogan was also raided but fortunately Grogan had been tipped off and had made good his escape before their arrival.
“We need to remember these people, so our present and future generations know what the monument is,” he explains.
Two wreaths were placed at the monument and Cllr Callan thanked his colleagues for their continued support for the event and keeping the fate of Halpin and Moran alive in our memories.