Bertie Ahern wants the legacy of 1916 to inspire a new "culture of active citizenship". He said that the generations since 1916 had sought to honour the sacrifice of those volunteers, but that modern Irish society faced a new set of challenges arising out of its success and prosperity. Historian Diarmaid Ferriter makes a similar point in yesterday's Irish Times: "the fairness, equality and tolerance promised in 1916 do not exist in Ireland today".
The 1916 Rising began a process by which Ireland became a role model for the struggle against British imperialism. We do not need to apologise for this in 21st century Ireland, nor should we ignore it. But we do need to reflect on why, once you move outside the walls of the execution yard in Kilmainham Gaol, you re-enter an Ireland that does not reflect the noble aspirations that propelled the Rising and produced the Proclamation.
In his column in yesterday's Times, John Waters also writes about 1916 under the heading "Time to Revise the Revisionists". Waters' view is that the Irish sense of history is grounded in the "treacherous quicksands of ambiguity, ambivalence and amnesia". He reiterates the now familiar point that "because the Provos laid claim to the tradition of 1916, those who correctly condemned the often barbaric and indiscriminate slaughter of the 1970s and 80s set themselves to unpicking the myth of 1916 so as to demolish the Provos' claim to heroic status". This debunking of 1916 has left independent Ireland with "a dislocated sense of its own beginnings". While Waters is broadly correct about the political motivations of the revisionists, some of the early pioneering modern scholarship undertaken by the likes of F.X Martin and Maureen Wall appeared at the time of the fiftieth anniversary and pre-dated the outbreak of the 'troubles' in 1969.
Diarmaid Ferriter takes the view that the revisionist's position never cut much ice with the general public, with consistent survey data showing very positive support and pride in the men and ideals of 1916. While not denying that modern Irish republicanism has often been vague, contradictory and ideologically incoherent, nevertheless "it is important to remember and debate the significance of 1916 not just because of the pride it invokes (and there should not be an attempt to bully this pride out of existence) but also because of the continuing failure to deliver on what the rebels sought".
If the Taoiseach wants to instill a sense of active citizenship then he'd better realise that military parades are not enough. I suppose they're harmless enough but I won't be out in O'Connell street on Easter Sunday. But all countries have their foundation myths so let them at it. When I see the kind of military pageantry they have in Great Britain, I'm mighty glad we're a republic and have largely avoided the politics of deference.
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