Seamus Rafter to be remembered on the centenary of his death
THE 100th anniversary of the death of 1916 leader Seamus Rafter will be marked with a special ceremony in Enniscorthy on Sunday, September 9.
In 1916, Rafter and a handful of colleagues occupied the Athenaeum for four days during Easter week and only surrendered when written orders were received from Pádraig Pearse himself. Rafter died on September 13, 1918, from injuries sustained when a bomb exploded prematurely at Antwerp House in Mary Street, while being primed for engagement against British Forces.
A young publican, Rafter lived in Slaney Place at the time of his death in the premises now occupied by Holohan’s.
He suffered horrific injuries in the blast, which occurred within 100 yards of his home, and died within days.
He was given a patriot’s funeral and was subsequently honoured in his native town by having a statue erected in his honour in Abbey Square in the 1950s and by having a street named in his honour in the town centre.
The marking of 100 years since Rafter’s death will commence at 12.30 p.m. on Sunday, September 9, with a Mass of Remembrance in St Aidan’s Cathedral celebrated by Bishop Denis Brennan, Fr Odhrán Furlong and Fr Jim Fegan PP at Ballindaggin where Rafter would have originated from and where many of his family still reside to this day. Military honours will be rendered during the Mass by UN Veterans and ONE members, while other uniformed bodies will occupy reserved seating in the Cathedral.
Members of Wexford County Council will be in attendance. Minister Paul Kehoe and fellow Oireachtas colleagues from Wexford are also expected to attend.
After the Mass, a parade, headed by an Army Colour Party and Honour Guard form the 3rd Infantry Battalion, along with a bugler and drummer from the Defence Forces School of Music, will march from the Cathedral to the Rafter monument in Abbey Square where a wreath will be laid and military honours rendered. A wreath will also be laid at the Athenaeum where Seamus Rafter and his colleagues struck a blow for Irish freedom in 1916.
The parade will then march to Holohan’s Pub in Slaney Place where a further wreath will be laid and the Last Post sounded.
From there, participants will return to the Athenaeum where an exhibition on the life and times of the Enniscorthy patriot will be officially opened.