109 years ago, a truly remarkable generation of men and women acted to assert the right of the Irish people to control their own future.
They sought a democratic republic serving the interests of all. They aspired to a country which would stand with other nations on the side of fundamental values. They demanded that all who served the republic must behave with honour. The leaders who found their final resting place here did not know that their vision would be spectacularly vindicated. They could never have dreamed that they would still be viewed as heroes by generations long after their friends and comrades were gone. We come to this inspiring place both because it is our duty to honour the sacrifice of these heroes, and because of the vibrant, modern democratic republicanism which they bequeathed to us. The words of the Proclamation remain a profound testament to their values and to the founding spirit of this state.
And central to the Proclamation was a radical vision of an Ireland which could overcome even the deepest divisions. An Ireland which would always look forward to the future it could create rather than backwards at preserving or restoring the way things were in the past.
The biggest mistake which many people have made about the men and women of 1916 is to think of them as being simply traditionalists who wanted to restore an imagined Gaelic past. In fact, they were the exact opposites. They reflected many of the major intellectual and cultural movements of their time. Cultural revivals were found throughout Europe, and one of the most important intellectual topics of their day was how to reconcile tradition and modernity.
Fuair na laochra atá curtha anseo agus iad siúd a bhí ag freastal leo, spreagadh agus inspioráid ón ár dteanga agus an stair a bhain léi. Bhíodar tiomanta do chur chun cinn agus forbairt eagraíochtaí a bheadh in ann ár sainchultúr a chaomhnú agus eolas a fhorbairt ar an gcultúr ársa sin. An rud nach dtuigeann roinnt mhaith daoine ná nach raibh dearcadh na laochra seo ar an teanga Ghaeilge cosantach-an aidhm a bhí acu ná go mbeadh an Ghaeilge mar chuid de shochaí nua-aimseartha agus idirnáisiúnta.
Tá na rithimí ar leith agus coincheapanna a fhaightear i dteanga a raibh fréamhacha aici níos sine ná an Laidin ag seasamh do theanga álainn ar theastaigh uathu a thuigfeadh daoine.Ach chreid siad freisin go bhfuil buntáistí nuair is féidir linn go léir eolas a bheith againn ar go leor teangacha idirnáisiúnta. Ghlac said leis agus chuir siad an coincheap chun cinn gur mhaith an rud é an Béarla mar a labhraíodh in Éirinn é a úsáid, agus rinne roinnt mhaith de na laochra seo staidéar ar theangacha ó chultúir Eorpacha eile. Is fíor a rá go raibh náisiúnachas flaithiúil, oscailte, idirnáisiúnta ag baint leis na laochra seo-agus is oidhreacht iontach dúinn é sa lá atá inniu ann.
There was something incredibly unique in our 1916 generation – they saw nationalism as a way to bring groups together. They rejected the idea of nationalism as a way of asserting the superiority of one tradition. This is something which was missing throughout Europe, and I believe it is the reason why ours is the only new state to have emerged after the first world war which has survived, free and democratic, throughout the last century. The Proclamation is unique as a founding document which offers full rights and equality to all groups irrespective of their political allegiance. Yes, the Rising came purely from one tradition, but it was resolutely anti-sectarian.
The heroes buried in this place did not want the victory of one tradition – they wanted to build a shared future.
Of course, they used strong and stirring rhetoric full of references to the past – as everyone did at that time – but when they presented their core ideas in a daring proclamation it was a generous and outward-looking future they envisaged.
It is one of the greatest shames of our history that sectarian movements tried to highjack the spirit of 1916.
They still present an unchanging, inflexible and triumphalist republicanism as the inheritance of 1916.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Pearse said in 1913 “to every generation its deed”. He didn’t say, ‘to every generation the same deed.’ And he believed that for his generation the deed was revolution which could awaken the Irish people.
He would have been appalled at the idea that decades and even a century later, some members of later generations would claim that nothing had changed – that the deed required of them remained the same.
We have achieved remarkable things because of the freedom which the heroes of 1916 inspired. In recent years, one of the most important achievements has been the victory of democracy over an illegitimate campaign of violence and destruction.
And when we look at the deed which falls to this generation there is nothing more important than delivering lasting progress in overcoming sectarianism and division.
The rock on which the Good Friday Agreement is built, is the idea that each of us is entitled to have our aspirations respected and each of us has a duty to respect others.
For us in Fianna Fáil our deeply held aspirations remain as strong as ever – but we accept the challenge of helping to move our country forward. We accept the fact that the peace settlement has created the space for us to move beyond the days where the only thing which mattered was which constitutional camp you fitted into.
It has challenged us all, in the inspiring words of Seamus Mallon, to use this new dispensation. To stop shouting at each other and waving flags in each other’s faces, and to start trying to talk and to understand.
A lot of people find it more comfortable to keep believing that what is needed is just loud advocacy and asserting your beliefs. ‘One more push will do it’ is their message.
That way will achieve nothing new – and it is actually the way of avoiding the much harder work of trying to create a shared understanding and an inclusive idea of what it means to be Irish and to live in the different parts of our island.
It is long past time to move on to this agenda – to take up the vital urgency of permanently overcoming sectarianism.
And to do this we need to do far more to understand each other. To build strong links. To focus on what we share and not what has divided us.
That is why the Shared Island Initiative is a fundamental part of the work of Fianna Fáil in government.
It represents the first time in this island’s history that we have in place a largescale, active and ambitious programme to create understanding and engagement across entrenched divides.
Tomorrow I will launch a report which brings together the first few years of work to study areas like the economy, health and education on both sides of the border.
This is the first time since partition that this work has been done. It’s hard, detailed and challenging work – but it achieves something which is incredibly valuable, it helps us to start replacing prejudices with facts about issues which are fundamental to society and the economy North and South.
To give one practical example of how this work is making a difference, we have put in place a major pilot programme which is developing responses to educational disadvantage North and South.
And we’re doing this in cooperation with the Department of Education in Belfast led by a Minister from a party which is resolute in its Unionism.By finding a new way forward children of all communities will feel the direct and lasting benefit.
And there are many other exciting small and large projects which the Shared Island Initiative is enabling.
One of the most important topics for these projects is culture, where the young people of different communities are leading some genuinely inspiring work. The Irish Traditional Music Archive project is a great example – creating a shared space for collaborations of many different types. At an event last week one of the musicians introduced a performance by a cross-community group by pointing out that all the music on our island ultimately comes from the same well. The Shared Island Initiative is achieving something very real and very important. And that is why it will remain a core priority for us. And in this, I see it as being very true to the history of our party.
When you look back at the records, and put aside partisan histories, you see that our greatest generation of leaders, each of whom had fought proudly for independence in 1916 and afterwards, believed that engagement and understanding was the only way of achieving progress on our island.
Developed in a startlingly original and far-sighted policy produced in 1955, Eamon de Valera, Seán Lemass and Frank Aiken talked about the need to move on from advocacy and to understand that engagement and mutual development was the core of overcoming division.
When these ideas were presented, they faced a lot of criticism – with Lemass in particular being attacked for sending a personal representative to engage with protestant communities in the North.
He persisted and the breakthrough of his meeting with Terence O’Neill was intended as the start of something far more ambitious.
We all know the history of the terrible years which followed.
But the core analysis of our leaders from those years remains more valid than ever.
Reconciliation is not a side issue it is not a by-product – it is a fundamental objective.
There is no other reasonable way to read the words of the Proclamation of 1916 – and we must also always remember its demand for an Ireland which believes in active and deep international cooperation.
In all of the tension and confusion of this moment one thing is absolutely clear – and that is the deep threat there is to rules-based international cooperation.
Not just in trade, but in areas like public health, conflict prevention and basic human rights, institutions and principles which we value are being challenged.
This party was founded by men and women who believed passionately that Ireland could have no future without the security of strong international cooperation.
That is why we were the only country in the world before the Second World War to adopt a constitution by referendum which stated clearly its belief in the rule international law and cooperation.
If we are to get through this challenging period, there can be absolutely no doubt where Ireland stands.
We have to speak up for our values. We have to stand with those who share these values, and we have to be willing to embrace action where it is required.
Trade is a bedrock of our prosperity. It creates the jobs and incomes we need. It funds our public services. And where there are balanced trade deals available to us and Europe, we have to embrace those deals.
We cannot always win on every issue, but we can make sure that we protect and expand on our economic strengths.
And our ability to work within a strong and effective European Union is even more important today than it was when Seán Lemass and Jack Lynch led us into Europe.
Europe needs to be able to do whatever it takes to protect our economies, to address the climate crisis and to secure our free democracies.
The last few months has been a period of intense discussion and engagement between European leaders. Throughout all of this I have made it clear, that the government I lead is absolutely committed to protecting and strengthening the European Union.
We have no time for the destructive and cynical Euroscepticism of those who attack Europe on everything and oppose every proposal for change. We want a genuine capital Union – one which increases the ability of businesses to trade across Europe and to bring down the costs of financing. We want a more ambitious budget – one which can properly fund the things Europe already does and significantly increases investment in critical areas like energy and research. And we want a Europe where we actively support the values of freedom, democracy and human rights. That means we must continue to be steadfast in our support for Ukraine, its territorial integrity and its future as a democratic European state. It also means that we must not allow terrible conflicts and destruction to be ignored just because we have few direct connections with the people affected.
We must continue to call for peace, justice and reconstruction in Gaza.
We must do more to support the millions suffering in other conflicts, such as the almost unimaginable humanitarian crisis in Sudan.
Many of the greatest advances in the cause of human rights and improving people’s lives which were seen throughout the world in the last 80 years came about because of a shared understanding of the role of humanitarian values and institutions.
We can’t allow this shared empathy to disappear.
And we must also be clear that we have a responsibility to defend our own democracy and economy when they are threatened or when their vulnerabilities become clear.
New laws which we have enacted in recent years provide a basis for protecting our democratic debate from the type of interference seen elsewhere – but we must now enact them fully.
The new national security structures we are putting in place will lead a comprehensive effort to anticipate and respond to threats. As we all saw in the attack against the HSE during the pandemic, there are very real and immediate threats to be addressed.
And we must be able to defend our critical infrastructure and to contribute to international peace missions. So, we will push forward with the major programme of investment in our defence forces which I began in recent years.
Ireland will continue to stand aside from military blocks, but we cannot stand aside from our international responsibilities. There is absolutely no definition of neutrality which requires us to allow an aggressive imperial power like Russia to have a veto over when we can commit our troops to an international mission.
I know that some parties have decided that this will be their next priority in playing aggressive opposition. But I will have no difficulty whatsoever in bringing to the democratic parliament of this republic a proposal to remove the aggressor’s veto and restore the ability of Irish troops to continue their proud tradition of aiding the cause of peace and justice in the world.
While our party was founded by men and women who led and fought in the Rising, we believe that it belongs to all Irish people.
An Ireland which serves its people, which works to overcome divisions, and which is a valued member of a community of free nations – this is the vision of 1916.
It represents a point of light in our history to guide and inspire us.
It reminds us of our shared responsibilities, and it challenges us to overcome our divisions.
It inspires us with the ideal of an Ireland which has a strong and active voice in the world.
That is why it is right that we come to this place, and we again say thank you to these heroes and what they have done for us.
-ENDS-