Ten republicans executed by the British authorities during the Irish war of independence eighty years ago were given state funerals following processions through the streets of Dublin yesterday.
Among the ten was Kevin Barry, who was immortalised in the song "Just a Lad of 18 Summers," which is regarded asone of Ireland's most potent patriotic anthems.
The ten, all of whom were hanged in 1920 and 1921, were disinterred from Dublin's Mountjoy prison, where some of them were buried in a communal grave.
Up to ten thousand people lined the streets of Dublin before the ten were reinterred with full state honours at proceedings attended by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, Irish President Mary McAleese and other dignitaries.
Also in attendance was a Sinn Fein delegation headed by party president Gerry Adams.
The Irish government's action in arranging the state funerals has given rise to debate about whether Kevin Barry and his colleagues were justified in their actions. Barry, a medical student, took part in an incident in which an attempt to seize arms from British soldiers led to three of the soldiers, one aged 17, being shot dead in a Dublin street.
While most observers in the south seem to regard the incident as part of the warfare raging at the time, a number have argued that it is inappropriate to honour Barry while overlooking the victims. One columnist described Barry as "this baby-faced killer." The fact that thousands turned out yesterday however suggests this is a minority view.
