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Photocall for
The Worthless Soldier
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Lawn of the Natural History Museum Dublin |
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Friday, 30th June 2006 at:
12.30pm |
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Pictured is
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern TD with actors Seamus Ball &
Darren Grier |
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from the
cast of The Worthless Soldier which premieres in Liberty Hall on Monday 10
July 2006. |
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Funded by the Department of
Foreign Affairs
Reconciliation Fund to coincide with the 90th Anniversary of the Battle of
the Somme, The Worthless Soldier, a play by By Sam Starrett about the
courtsmartial and execution of
Private Bernard McGeehan one of the
26 Irish
Born executed British soldiers was presented
from Monday 10th to Thursday 13th July 2006
in the
Liberty Hall Theatre Dublin.
Minister For Foreign Affairs
Mr Dermot Ahern T D
has consistently campaigned for pardons for the
Irish Shot at Dawn.
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Regretfully Sam Starrat the author
of the play The Worthless Soldier passed away (2007) in
Londonderry/Derry from cancer. One met Sam during a performance of The
Worthless Soldier in July 2006 and he was fuming
to say the least at the very poor attendances. Although we were not involved in
anyway with this production, the Shot at Dawn Campaign Irl felt obligated to
apoligise personally to Sam and his actors for the most unprofessional way his
efforts had been treated by both the Derry Playhouse and the Shot at Dawn
Pardons Campaign in the UK. The audience attendances in Dublin were disastrous
and the role of the Derry Playhouse and the British Shot at Dawn Pardons
Campaign in
this debacle was very very shoddy and unhelpful.
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Note:
Founded on the 27th June 2002
The Shot at Dawn Campaign Irl
co-ordinated by the
Irish Seamen's Relatives Association (1939-46)
is an independent Irish based group who successfully campaigned to persuade the British Government to grant
pardons to
26 Irish born
British soldiers in particular and
275 other
ranks in the British Army who were executed during world war one for
various military offences which ceased in 1929 to be punishable by death:
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Since 2005, one individual from Northern Ireland located in the UK, has continually represented
himself to the general media et al, as a relative of
Private Bernard McGeehan, thereby adroitly
attaching himself on the back of the
British Shot at Dawn Pardons Campaign and by default attaching himself via
the back door with
the independent Shot at Dawn Campaign Ireland effort, to the
detriment of our Irish based support. Despite conveying our concerns, todate,
this person has not proved to our satisfaction his relationship to any of the 26 Irish Shot at
Dawn. Consequently, we must advise caution in dealing with this source.
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We wish to
state that the Shot at Dawn Campaign Irl is not linked with any UK grouping
styling itself as the Shot at Dawn Campaign, Shot at Dawn Pardons Campaign,
Shot at Dawn Wales or Wales Shot at Dawn.
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A book entitled
Forgotten Soldiers: The Irishmen Shot at
Dawn was launched in Belfast on Thursday the 25th October 2007.
The Shot at Dawn Campaign Irl is not involved or linked in anyway with this
publication. An extract
from
Walker's book reproduced in the Belfast Telegraph states inter alia that
Peter Mulvany had recently established the
Irish branch of the Shot at Dawn group.
The Shot at Dawn Campaign Irl
co-ordinated by the
Irish Seamen's Relatives Association (1939-46)
is an independent Irish based group and not part or an adjunct of the
British Campaign. To link the Irish SAD group with the UK end in this way is
perverse and untrue.
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The Irish Shot at Dawn Campaign to secure pardons for Irish born British
soldiers executed for military offences 1914 -18
