How relevant is the 1916 Proclamation today? Seen as the foundation stone of modern Irish nationalism, it will be read aloud at commemorative ceremonies and parades across Ireland this weekend.
The Irish government, political parties and other organisations will compete in a semaphore of flag-waving to send the message that they (and only they) are the true inheritors of the Proclamation’s aims and ideals.
So, Irish men and Irish women, in the name of God and of the dead generations, how accurately is the Proclamation reflected in the politics of modern Ireland? The answer is not very.
The Proclamation is built on the concept of the Irish nation. However, nationalists abandoned nationhood in the Good Friday Agreement, which claimed instead that there are two nations here. So, it is reasonable to assume those who support the GFA do not accept the Proclamation’s underlying principle.
They will also presumably deny its communist ethos, which advocates the ownership of Ireland by the people of Ireland. (It is probably the only political document which seeks God’s intervention for the creation of communism.)
The marchers will also disregard the Proclamation’s demand for Irish political and economic independence. Because of its membership of the EU, the south does not have its own currency, it must seek approval from the EU for its annual budget and in any conflict between EU law and Irish law, EU law has supremacy.
Ireland’s most important powers of government are now held by the unelected EU Commission. That system has the overwhelming approval of those who will march at Easter, claiming (and presumably believing) to support Irish independence. Welcome to the world of delusional politics.
The northern state, which effectively remains a British colony, is administered by those who will also honour the Proclamation this weekend. Indeed, Sinn Féin now lays wreaths to commemorate the same British army which executed those who wrote the Proclamation.
Of course, you might argue that times have changed and it is unrealistic to attempt to apply the ideals of 1916 into modern society. Fair point. However, you cannot believe that and, at the same time, claim to uphold the Proclamation’s teachings.
Maybe you could argue instead that the Proclamation was a rushed job, which is too general in tone and content to be taken literally. It certainly was rushed and there were many difficulties in printing it.
The ‘C’ in ‘Republic’ at the top of the document, for example, is smaller than the other capitals and the lower-case letters ‘e’ are of a different font or style to the other letters. If the Rising had not been delayed by a day, Pearse would not have had a Proclamation ready.
The text may even contain a mistake. It claims that in the 300 years prior to 1916, there had been six rebellions. There only appears to have been five: 1641, 1798, 1803, 1848 and 1867.
Maybe the six rebellions include the Nine Years’ War (ending in 1603). It was led by Tyrone’s Hugh O’Neill who surrendered to Elizabeth I, not knowing that she had died a week earlier. (There’s nothing new in Irish history. It just rewinds regularly and then plays again.)
The Proclamation does not point out that each of those six (or maybe five) rebellions all failed. However, by linking the Easter Rising to social and economic issues, it recognised that violence on its own achieves nothing.
There are still those today who claim that violence is the only thing Britain understands. Sadly, the British have always understood violence much better than the Irish. There has never been a successful Irish military rebellion. Indeed more has often been achieved without violence.
There are still those today who claim that violence is the only thing Britain understands. Sadly, the British have always understood violence much better than the Irish. There has never been a successful Irish military rebellion. Indeed more has often been achieved without violence
The civil rights movement is an obvious example. It achieved comprehensive political and legal reform through peaceful protest (even though it was met with violent state opposition). The Land League, begun in 1879, abolished the system of landlordism in Ireland without firing a shot. It threatened violence and opposed many evictions, but it was purely a social and economic rebellion.
Easter commemorations tend to highlight the military aspect of the Rising and ignore its social and economic aspirations. It is convenient to do so. As a result, the 1916 commemorations these days are really just a new form of Ireland’s Easter duty. Wave the flag, read the Proclamation, and then go home and ignore almost every word it says.
Reading the Proclamation will change nothing. Understanding it might be a better place to start.