Vandalism did not deter Lemass commemoration

THE Captain Noel Lemass Centenary Commemoration was held on Military Road in the Dublin Mountains last Sunday.

The event organisers were undeterred from holding the event after an act of vandalism that saw a monument in his memory being daubed with red paint just hours before.

Mr Lemass, brother of then-future taoiseach Seán Lemass, was an anti-Treaty IRA captain who was abducted in broad daylight from Wicklow Street in the city centre on July 3, 1923.

His mutilated body was discovered along Military Road on October 13, 1923, where there were apparent signs of torture on the 25-year-old’s body.

He was later buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.

The centenary event was marked by members of Fianna Fáil, including Tánaiste Micheál Martin, who outlined the details of Mr Lemass’s gruesome death and subsequent discovery.

Local Fianna Fáil TD John Lahart acknowledged the distress caused by the desecration of the national monument dedicated to Mr Lemass but emphasised that the attendees remained undeterred.

He stated that everyone present was resolute in not letting this incident overshadow the importance of the occasion.

A wreath was laid at the wall that surrounds the monument to Mr Lemass, while a bagpiper played.