The Fourth Annual George Brown Commemoration will be held in Inistioge on Friday 24 and Saturday June 25.
George Brown, son of Francis Brown and Mary Lackey of Inistioge and Tullogher, was reared in Manchester where he became a prominent member of the British Communist Party. Shortly after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War he travelled to Spain and joined the International Brigade which sought to defend the democratically elected government against the forces of General Franco supported militarily by the Fascist armies of Germany and Italy.
George Brown was killed, in the defence of Madrid, at the Battle of Brunete in July 1937.
The inaugural George Brown Commemoration was held in June 2008. This had been preceded the previous year with the planting of an olive grove in Woodstock Gardens and the unveiling of a plaque to the memory of George Brown and three other Kilkenny volunteers in the International Brigade.
The commemoration begins on the Friday evening with a ceremony at the George Brown plaque in St Colmcille’s Cemetery followed by lectures in the adjoining church of St Mary.
The Saturday morning is again given over to talks in St Mary’s, followed by a ceremony at the Olive Grove at Woodstock. Later, entertainment is provided by the Graiguenamanagh Brass Band at The Square in Inistioge.
It is expected that this year’s celebrations will prove as successful as previous years. The theme for the Friday evening lectures is ‘Socialism in the Modern World’ with José Antonio Gutiérrez of the Latin America Solidarity Centre speaking on ‘Socialism in Latin America’, and the event’s keynote speaker, Michael D Higgins, addressing the issue of ‘The Left in a Changing World’. This session will be chaired by Jimmy Kelly, Irish secretary UNITE.
The Saturday morning gathering will have president of SIPTU, Jack O’Connor, in the chair. This session will deal with the ‘Left in Ireland of the 1930s’ – speaker Eoin Magennis; while noted Spanish Civil War historian Harry Owens will explore the conflict from the point of the involvement of the Catholic Church. In the afternoon, a tree-planting ceremony will take place in Woodstock Gardens. This year two trees will be planted near the Dovecot, by Michael D. Higgins and Jimmy Kelly. The address in the Olive Grove will be delivered by Manus O’Riordan and is titled ‘In Defence of Two Republics – Kilkenny’s International Brigaders’.
All are very welcome to attend.
