We refuse to lie here in dishonor! We are not criminals, but Irishmen! This is the crime of which we stand accused.

My life now centered around sleepless nights and stand-bys, dodging the Brits and calming nerves to go out on operations. But the people stood by us. The people not only opened the doors of their homes to lend us a hand, but they opened their hearts to us. I learned that without the people, we could not survive and I knew that I owed them everything.

There can never be peace in Ireland until the foreign oppressive British presence is removed, leaving all the Irish people as a unit to control their own affairs and determine their own destinies as a sovereign people, free in mind and body, separate and distinct physically, culturally and economically.

They will not criminalise us, rob us of our true identity, steal our individualism, depoliticise us, churn us out as systemised, institutionalised, decent law-abiding robots. Never will they label our liberation struggle as criminal.

Our revenge will be the laughter of our children.

We refuse to lie here in dishonor! We are not criminals, but Irishmen! This is the crime of which we stand accused.

Everyone, Republican or otherwise has their own particular part to play. No part is too great or too small, no one is too old or too young to do something.