East Clare Commemorations 2026: Commemorating Annie O’Mara and the O’Mara Family’s Role in the War of Independence

Joining me now to mark this year's East Claire Easter commemorations are Doctor of

Tommas Mokomra and the Mara Fina Folle-Cancelor Pat Hayes. This year's ceremony will highlight

the life and legacy of Annie O'Mara, a commandeman leader and flagman during the war of independence

whose courage and contribution alongside her family played a vital role in the struggle

for Irish freedom and gender boat. Very welcome to the show and Tommas, can you tell us

a bit more about this here's commemorations and why it was important to focus on Annie

O'Mara and her family. Sure Alan and thanks again for the opportunity you've all been

very good to us every year for our commemoration and I suppose each year we take the opportunity

to shine a light on an aspect or an individual or people that were involved deeply in the

Irish revolutionary period in the East Claire area are at least from the East Claire area.

So we take it very seriously every year when we discuss you know who should we take the

opportunity to highlight and this year Pat obviously would have been very aware in his

own area of the contribution of the Mara family to the revolutionary period so that was

suggested as appropriate and when we looked into it more you know we could see how powerful

they were as an example of a small local rural family that contributes it to a revolution

that had international significance so it was really an appropriate fish for you know

commemoration in 20 to 26 so Annie O'Mara as you mentioned there would have been the OCE of the

local flag moment company of the 6th Battalion of the East Claire Commonwealth Brigade and would have

as such been responsible for the local members of Commonwealth within her area but also across

the Brigade area contributed massively to that struggle and there are multiple examples of what

she did in risking her own life to contribute to that struggle right from 1916 even when Liam

Melos who would have been one of the leaders of the Eastern rising came to the Eastern area when

underrun and being one of the most wanted men in the country at the time she was one of the people

who looked after Liam Melos and from that moment on really she committed herself to the revolutionary

movement and to the republican movement so throughout the war of independence she would have been

involved in obviously catering and looking after IRA men that were underrun but also carrying

dispatches you know from Flagmont where she was from down to Scarif and across the

air area and as well as that organized in at a one occasion in 1919 five rifles to be secured

for the East Air IRA brigade which was hugely significant in the context of how poorly armed the

East Air Brigade would have been to roast at the war of independence or for her to be able to

actually secure five rifles and bring them back into the brigade area from Galway from Balancedau

was really really significant and I suppose that's just typifies the type of risks that any was

prepared to take but across her family including her sister Bardee and our two brothers Harry and

Tommy who were both deeply involved in the IRA Harry Omara was actually adjacent to the East

Air IRA Brigade while Tommy was intelligence officer for the six battalion of the IRA brigades

in East Air as well so this is a family that were deeply deeply involved in the the highest level

of of revolution across East Air and are as I said an example of families right across that area

this you know put their lives at risk during the time and our country was fighting for its

independence and it's only right that we take the opportunity this year to come and rape them yeah

I'm pat you I know you've spoken about restoring balance I guess and how we remember the past and

that people and women in particular like Annie Omara have been historically under recognized

and how important is it that commemorations like this highlight the contribution not just

any but women who played their part that they were central not just supportive to the success of

the independence movement well I suppose we're kind of unique in a way that we actually have a

memorial park well I think one of the very few that actually the memorial park dedicated to the

East Air Brigade early and coming among so we have taken this very seriously like over the years

where you've had a lot of people come relatives of people that were involved in coming among and

the whole one family and a whole lot of people have come over the years so like as you can see

from Thomas's review they're the amount of family it was a family unit and Annie Omara and

Borde and all of them took an active role with their brothers and they were the type of people

that fought for our freedom and those are the ones that sometimes are forgotten and never talk

we we we talk about the highlights and the big times and people talk about 1916 and all that and

all that but behind every every campaign and particularly this campaign for our freedom

with a whole lot of families and women that put their lives and risk every day to try and make

sure for better Ireland and a free island and I think it's really opportune that we actually take

that opportune that to to celebrate and and and and remember those things for those huge

contributions and Thomas as you rightly said the commemoration is honoring the wider omara family

so in on that I mean how significant is it that there's family involvement in this year's

celebration one of Annie's you know there's an FU has helped develop the memorial member of the

family will lay a read as well yeah well look this is again one of the really I suppose

pointing things for us as a commemoration group obviously we want to to highlight the roles

of of these individuals and highlight the overall drive for independence and and struggle for

for our independence but for the families you know it's an opportunity for them to come together

and to you know see their people recognized and you know Pat is right in terms of the you know

sometimes the failure for for for us to recognize the so-called smaller players but of course as

we know without people like the omaras and others that were commemorating this weekend like

Martin Murray and Martin Walsh you know the the war of independence couldn't have happened so

for the families to come along and see their people recognized you know just as much as as

the major figures of the war of independence is hugely important and you know there's no doubt

within their family tradition these stories would have been told over the years but what we're

doing is taking the opportunity to amplify that to the broader public and to shine a light you

know far the broader public to see the roles of these individuals so you know we do agree that

of course women have not been given the recognition day or two but I've always felt that local

tradition and family tradition would hold these stories you know very proudly and what we're doing

as I said is is shining a light on those for the broader public to see so we're we're delighted

and every year we're really taken back by the amount of family members that come along and how

proud they feel to have their family tradition recognized in a public way so over the last number

of decades and that's nearly been involved for 30 years but over that number of decades we've

shown a light on on different families and different people every year so over those decades

we've contributed to a greater telling of the story of the revolutionary period and we feel

that's really really important. Yeah Paddich will be really memorable and poignant occasion on

Easter Sunday in Schumgreni can you just let people know to finish where that'll be happening

and there'll be a further ceremony of at the grave of the scar of martyrs as well and what time

everything gets underway? Yes well look at I think actually this kind of a unique year in in

another reason as well we're actually for the first time ever during Easter periods we're going

to the bridging killer who as well to the memory to the scarred martyrs on the bridge on Saturday

and we're going to lay a read there as well this time once as pedestrianized as made safer us

and as far as to return and make sure the people know exactly that memorial on the bridge and

where the scarred martyrs were shot and I think that's a very important event this year as a new

addition to our annual commemorations and then on Easter Sunday we gather at the memorial park

in Schumgreni ten o'clock where we'll lay a read there at the Mara family and then we follow on

up to the scarred and where we have mass in the church in memory of the Easter brigade and

common amount and the scarred martyrs will be celebrated in scarred church 11 and following that we

lay a read but the grave of the scarred martyrs and I think it's just poignant and I think it's

mastered when you look back over the years and you see all the memories and all the people

how they've attended the scarred martyrs general and how their contribution and their small

contribution in a unique way has been celebrated really because it's hard and I kind of look back

in awe and say well look at what these people done for our freedom and the small and simply

where some people were involved with the big impacted made in where we are today and I think

that's really the events that are on Saturday and Sunday are really important and I would encourage

people to take that small period on Easter Sunday or Saturday and to come and and be with us

to pay how much and remembrance to the people that give us our freedom and of note out there be

quite a turnout for those. My thanks to Councillor Patez and to Dr. Tomas Mcumre for joining me on

morning focus.