Fianna Fáil should take pride in its heritage as a true republican party, the newest recruit to the parliamentary party, Niall Blaney, told a Fianna Fáil constituency meeting in Nobber, Co Meath, last night.
Speaking for the first time at a Fianna Fáil meeting outside his native Donegal, the former Independent Fianna Fáil TD said the party should draw inspiration from the strong patriotism, the commitment to public service, the integrity and idealism of its founders.
"Over the past year we have celebrated the 80th anniversary of the foundation of Fianna Fáil and the 90th anniversary of the Easter Rising. I want this evening to pay tribute to the Taoiseach for his leadership and his commitment to commemorating that great and brave generation which set this country on the road to national freedom.
"By not being afraid to confront those who want to dismiss our history or to claim it for their own party ends, the Taoiseach has protected the right of all Irish people to commemorate our revolutionary generation in an open and inclusive way.
"As we move forward from these important milestones, I believe it is important that Fianna Fáil continues to reflect upon and take account of who we are as a party and where we have come from," said Mr Blaney.
He quoted the words of his uncle Neil T. Blaney on accepting the Fianna Fáil nomination to contest the 1957 general election: "We have both age, wisdom and youth in our party - we have more farmers than the Farmers' Party in the Dáil; we have more Labour members than the two Labour parties have representatives in the country; and as far as republicans are concerned, every member of Fianna Fáil is and ever was and ever will be a Republican."
Mr Blaney was expelled from Fianna Fáil in 1971 and went on to found his independent organisation in Donegal.
Led by his nephew, it merged back into Fianna Fáil last year.
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