Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

Ar mo shon féin agus ar son Sinn Féin, ba mhaith liom comhbhrón a chur chuig muintir na Polainne in Éirinn, sa Pholainn agus ar fud an domhain ar bás uachtarán na Polainne agus 95 duine eile ar 10 Aibreán seo caite. On behalf of Sinn Féin and on my own behalf I join in the expressions of sympathy to the Polish community in Ireland, and to the people of Poland, on the death of President Lech Kaczynski, together with 95 other leading Polish citizens in the tragic air crash of 10 April. The circumstances of the accident emphasise the tragic history of Poland, as the delegation was on its way to commemorate the massacre of thousands of Polish prisoners of war and other citizens on the orders of Stalin in Katyn in 1940. Some of the dead from 10 April were relatives of the Katyn victims. Given of our own history, the Irish people have had a special affinity with the people of Poland and have followed with interest and sympathy their long struggle for national self-determination and unity.

In addition to recalling the late president as Head of State of Poland, Members also should recall the other victims of the accident. I wish to mention in particular Anna Walentynowicz, who was also killed in the crash. Her dismissal from her job in Gdansk in 1980 for trade union activity sparked the mass strikes out of which the Solidarity movement was born. In her later years, she criticised the so-called "self-styled capitalists selling off our plants and pocketing the money". Her key role as a staunch trade unionist and Polish patriot also should be remembered. Suaimhneas síoraí dá n-anamacha uile.

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