The Easter Lily is an artificial paper badge worn around Easter by Irish republicans chiefly as symbol of remembrance for Irish combatants who died during or were executed after the 1916 Easter Rising. A badge is a device, patch, or accoutrement which is presented or displayed to annote some feat of service, a special accomplishment, as a symbol of authority (ex: police), or as a simple means of identification. ... Easter is the most important religious holiday of the Christian liturgical year, observed in March, April, or May to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, which Christians believe occurred after his death by crucifixion in AD 27-33 (see Good Friday). ... Irish Republicanism is the nationalist belief that all of Ireland should be a united independent republic. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 - The Royal Army Medical Corps first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... Easter Proclamation, read by Pádraig Pearse outside the GPO at the start of the Easter Rising, 1916. ...

The Easter Lily was introduced in 1926 by Cumann na mBan. Proceeds from the sale of the badge went to the Irish Republican Prisoners' Dependents Fund. Traditionally, they were sold outside church gates on Easter Sunday and worn to republican commemorations. In the first few decades of its existence, people from a broad political spectrum – from Fianna Fáil to Sinn Féin – wore lilies, which were sold by members of those political parties as well as the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Fianna Éireann, and Conradh na Gaeilge. 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Cumann na mBan, (the ‘League of Women’), was an Irish republican womens paramilitary organisation formed in April 1914 as an auxilliary of the Irish Volunteers (IV). ... Easter (also called Pascha) is generally accounted the most important holiday of the Christian year, observed March or April each year to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead (after his death by crucifixion; see Good Friday), which Christians believe happened at about this time of year, almost two... Fianna Fáil - The Republican Party (IPA ; English translation: Soldiers of Ireland but more often translated - inaccurately - as Soldiers of Destiny) is the largest political party in Ireland. ... It has been suggested that Provisional Sinn Féin be merged into this article or section. ... The West Cork Flying Column during the War of Independence. ... A recruitment poster for the now-defunct Fianna Éireann group associated with Provisional Sinn Féin. ... The Gaelic League (Conradh na Gaeilge) is an organization for the purpose of keeping the Irish language spoken in Ireland. ...

As tensions developed between Fianna Fáil and the IRA in the 1930s, the former unsuccessfully attempted to introduce a new commemorative republican symbol. In addition, successive Dublin governments have attempted to suppress sales of the badge, claiming that permits require permits to sell the badge. Owing to the policy of abstentionism, republicans refused to apply for permits. Abstentionism is the policy of seeking election to a body while refusing to take up the seats or even sitting in an alternative assembly. ...

After the 1969/70 IRA split, which led to the emergence of the Provisional IRA, the majority Official IRA produced a new type of Easter Lily with a self-adhesive backing. This led to the members of the Official IRA and Official Sinn Féin being referred to pejoratively as the "Stickies". On the other hand, the Provisionals retained the traditional paper and pin and became known as the "Pinheads", a nickname which has not lasted. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) is a paramilitary group which aimed, through the use of violence, to achieve three goals: (i) British withdrawal from Ireland, (ii) the political unification of Ireland through the merger of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland , and (iii) the creation of an all... The term Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA refers to one of the two organisations - the other being the Provisional Irish Republican Army - that emerged from the split in the then Irish Republican Army in 1969-70. ... An adhesive is a compound that adheres or bonds two items together. ... Official Sinn Féin (later renamed Sinn Féin the Workers Party) was a Stalinst political party which evolved from the split in Sinn Féin and the IRA that took place in 1970. ...

Both the Officials and the Provisionals also saw the Easter Lily as a symbol of remembrance for their members who died on “active service”. With the decline in the Official IRA, the Easter Lily became more and more associated with the Provisionals and the popularity of the lily declined during the 1970s. In the 1990s, metal versions of the Lily became popular and are worn by some at any time of the year. Their sales and usage has increased with the rise in electoral support of the party. Hot metal work from a blacksmith In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily forms ions (cations) and has metallic bonds, and metals are sometimes described as a lattice of positive ions (cations) in a cloud of electrons. ...

Breaking with republican tradition, since 1987 Sinn Féin has applied to the Garda Síochána for permits to sell Easter Lilies. Traditional republicans, organised in Republican Sinn Féin, repudiate this practice as this involves some recognition of the institutions of the Irish state, which they argue has executed many of the IRA members commemorated by the Easter Lilies. 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A member of the motorcycle unit of the Garda Síochána. ... Republican Sinn Féin (RSF) is a minor political party1 operating in Ireland. ...