Wear an Easter Lilly | Micheál Martin and Moore St. | Two different Voices on Unity

 

Wear an Easter Lilly

I did not think Easter is almost upon us. It has crept up on me. For Irishrepublicans Easter holds a special significance. It is synonymous with the 1916Easter Rising and the heroism over a century ago of those who rose up againstthe British Empire and declared for a Republic. It is also a time when weremember all of those women and men – over countless generations – who gavetheir lives in pursuit of Irish sovereignty and independence.

In the course of my activism I have travelled widely. I havevisited many countries. Time and again I have been struck by the determinationof nations to honour the patriots and freedom fighters who gave meaning totheir desire for freedom and self-determination.

Across the world there are countless memorials to those whofought in wars against colonialism. National ceremonies of remembrance areheld. Buildings or lands and even prisons associated with struggles for freedomare protected and used as aids to teach young people the value of citizenshipand the importance of freedom and democracy.

Across this island and beyond there are many such monumentsto Irish patriots. Next Sunday tens of thousands of people in towns, villagesand cities, at country crossroads and at lonely hillside graveyards across thecountry, will gather for commemorations. They will gather also in Britain,Australia, Canada, the USA and many other places.

Most will wear an Easter Lily. This is a symbol of ourenduring commitment to the ideals of 1916 and of the Proclamation of theRepublic and is a mark of respect for all those, from every generation, whopaid with their lives in the cause of Irish freedom.

The first Easter Lily badges were designed in 1925 by therepublican women’s revolutionary organisation, Cumann na mBan. From the 1930s,successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments attempted to suppress sales ofthe Easter Lily. It was illegal in the North also. Over the decades manyrepublicans have been harassed, arrested and jailed for selling the EasterLily.

Fortunately, those days are now behind us and Easter Lilybadges of all shapes and sizes, some in metal or cloth or paper, are nowreadily available. So wear an Easter Lily with pride. And if you can attendyour local commemoration next week. Well done to The National GravesAssociation and all those who organise these events.

Táim ag iarraidh ar gach duine, óg agus sean, Lilí achaitheamh um Cháisc mar siombail náisiúnta a chuireann chun cinn nah-idéalacha agus prionsabail a bhain leo siúd a fuair bás um Cháisc 1916.

 

Micheál Martin and Moore St.

Micheál Martin visited 14-17 Moore St. last week. Number 16is where the leaders of the Rising held their last meeting before theirexecution. Numbers 14-17 are the planned location for a National Monument tothose who fought in the 1916 Easter Rising and who evacuated to that street asthe GPO was in flames. Martin’s visit comes 12 years after he called for the"protection and enhancement" of Moore Street. It comes 19 years afterthe Fianna Fáil government of Bertie Ahern designated 14-17 Moore St. as a NationalMonument. During that time the buildings lay derelict and have fallen into adangerous state of disrepair

Now almost two decades later Martin takes an interest, onthe cusp of Easter, in a site that his government has starved of funding.Moreover, Martin has backed the plan by the London based developer Hammerson toobliterate the Moore St. Battlefield site, including historic buildings thatare part of that period.

The rumour was that he was to make a public statement aboutthis. Representatives of the Moore Street Preservation Trust were there torespond, including the grandson of James Connolly, James Connolly Heron. 

James presented An Taoiseach with the Trusts plan for a1916 historic and Cultural Quarter. This encompasses the preservation,restoration and management of the Moore Street Battlefield Area, as designatedby the High Court in 2016 “the lands, buildings, streets and lanes within anarea including Moore Street, Henry Place, O’Rahilly Parade and Moore Lane, inwhich the 1916 Rising Volunteers travelled after evacuating the GPO”.

Micheál Martin did not visit any other part of the Street,speak to any of the shop owners or 1916 Relatives who were present and themedia. Maybe the presence of Moore Street campaigners put him off.

Speaking afterward James Connolly Heron said of thegovernment that “they claim to want to develop a museum whilesupporting a plan that will destroy the whole purpose and context of a museum -the story of the 1916 Rising as told in the very buildings where the last actof The Rising took place. The Hammerson plan would turn Moore Street into abuilding site for 15 years …” He called again for a meeting with AnTaoiseach.

Thus far Micheál Martin has declined to meet with the 1916Relatives. He has met with the developer whose plan he endorsed before theplanning process was completed.

The government’s plans for Moore St. do not reflect thehistoric significance of the area. In a submission to the High Court ten yearsago the National Museum of Ireland spoke of the “national historical importanceof the whole Moore Street area.” Nor does the government’s plan match theeconomic potential of the Battlefield site as a major tourist and employmentattraction for the centre of Dublin.

Martin should read the Moore Street Preservation Trustsalternative plan, meet with the Relatives and listen to the voices of those whohave a vision for Moore St. which reflects the ambition that the leaders of1916 had for the island of Ireland.

 

Two different Voices on Unity

Speaking of Micheál Martin, the Fianna Fáil leader wasinterviewed for the Belfast Telegraph last week. I was disappointed but notsurprised by his assertion that he wasn’t even thinking of a ‘border poll’.When pushed about the constitutional future of Ireland in 50 years-time hecouldn’t even bring himself to utter the words ‘united Ireland.’

 

In the 15 years he has been leader of Fianna Fáil Martin hasengaged in a deliberate strategy of obfuscation when it comes to unity. Hiscurrent excuse for not pursuing that legitimate national goal is his deeplyflawed assertion that you must first have reconciliation. To this end hepromotes the Shared Island Unit – which I support - claiming that its effortswill promote reconciliation and he infers - the cause of unity. But hisstrategy makes the achievement of reconciliation more difficult because it handsa veto to those who oppose reunification.

 

At the same time Martin praises the Good Friday Agreement.That’s because he has to. But he ignores the Agreement’s commitment to unityreferendums and his obligation as An Taoiseach to plane for the future. He isalso walking away from his constitutional obligation to pursue the objective ofa united Ireland.

 

As Micheál Martin was presenting his stunted view of thefuture Leo Varadkar was in the USA offering a more positive vision of a futureIreland. In his address to an Ireland’s Future event in Philadelphia he told500 Irish Americans: “I firmly believe that building a new and unitedIreland is the next step in our national journey, and I believe that IrishAmerica can help us to make those next steps,"  

 

A few days later writing for the Irish News Varadkarwrote: “Every generation has its great cause. I believe ours is thecause of uniting our island, working to build a new home where all traditions,all stories, and all our people belong. I believe building a new Ireland, aunited Ireland, is the political project of our generation.”  

 

Other United Irelanders will say that Leo should have donemore about this when he was Taoiseach. And that’s fair enough. But unlikeMicheál Martin the former Fine Gael leader is not afraid to use the ‘unity’word or to talk about a united Ireland. Nor are an increasing number ofcitizens across this island. The reality is that partition has failed. The onlycure for this is to end the union. A mechanism to do this is contained inthe Good Friday Agreement. Micheál Martin can only ignore this if the restof us let him. Regardless of his opposition the unity referendums will takeplace. There is therefore an onus on the rest of us to plan to win them. Ibelieve we can do it.