Pictures: Hundreds gather in Rathcooney to honour Brian Dillon 

HUNDREDS of people gathered at Rathcooney cemetery today to mark 150 years since the death of Brian Dillon, renowned Irish republican leader and a central figure in the Cork Fenian movement.

Despite having only stood at 4ft 9in due to a childhood fall which resulted in curvature of his spine, Brian Dillon made no small impact on the republican movement.

Born in Glanmire in 1830, Dillon joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood and was appointed a Fenian leader in Cork.

Dillon’s family kept a tavern at a crossroads, which came to be named after them, and after he inherited the tavern, it became for two decades the centre of republicanism in Cork city.

When Dillon was arrested and convicted of felony treason, terrible prison conditions caused a rapid deterioration in his health, which led to outrage in Cork and a campaign for his release.

Eventually granted amnesty and released in 1871, Dillon was welcomed home to Cork by huge crowds, but his health never recovered and he died 18 months later at his home in Dillon’s Cross, on Saturday, August 17, 1872.

Marking 150 years since his death, his memory was celebrated at Rathcooney cemetery with a wreath-laying ceremony, followed by a day of festivities and music at Brian Dillon’s GAA Club.

The commemoration was attended by Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, who were greeted by a guard of honour of children from Brian Dillon’s GAA.

U13 Brian Dillon’s player Oisín Valdy gave a beautiful uilleann pipes performance as attendees made their way up to the former IRB leader’s graveside.

Mr Martin said Brian Dillon played a “central” role in revolutionary Ireland, noting that his funeral was the largest public funeral of its time in Cork.

“When over 8,000 people gathered here for his burial 150 years ago, Dillon’s name was known throughout Ireland. He was renowned as a leader in the cause of Irish separatism, a man who endured great suffering and cruelty but never wavered in his beliefs,” he said.

“The scale of his fame and his resonance with the people of Cork in particular speaks not just to his significance but also to the endurance of republican sentiment in the face of all of the repression and trauma of the 19th century. 150 years after his passing it is fitting that we gather here to remember him, to honour him, and the re- affirm our respect for his life and his sacrifices,” he said.

Eoin Keane, secretary of Brian Dillon’s GAA, said it was an “emotive morning” at the wreath-laying event, as Dillon’s legacy was recalled.

In his own speech, Mr Keane touched on the fact that Brian Dillon’s 150th anniversary was so close to the centenary of the death of fellow republican leader Michael Collins. While Dillon’s anniversary falls on August 17 and Collins’ on August 22, both commemoration events fell on the same day, with Mr Martin and Mr Varadkar attending Collins’ commemoration event later yesterday afternoon.

“It was great that our own commemoration preceded the Collins commemoration, in the same way that the exploits of Collins would have been preceded by that of Dillon and the rest of the Fenians,” said Mr Keane.

“The presence of the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste at both was great; it meant that both generations of republicanism could be celebrated and remembered,” he said.