Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)

Occasionally I get an opportunity in Donegal to give a talk to American students. It is a brush stroke history of Ireland, and I always enjoy the part about the lead up to the 1916 Rising, its aftermath and what it meant for the Irish people. Juxtapose the slaughter in the Somme not long after the Rising in which Irish Unionists and Nationalists were slaughtered - more than 20,000 people were killed in one day, on 1 July 1916, and over 30,000 were injured in a foolish slaughter driven by king or kaiser - with Connolly's Irish Citizen Army and its famous banner, "We serve neither King nor Kaiser but Ireland." They were visionaries. It was a fusion of radicals, visionaries, cultural revivalists and feminists.

Consider the first words of the Proclamation: "Irishmen and Irishwomen". At a time when women did not even have a vote, that was a radical statement of intent. They were poets, visionaries, trade unionists, suffragettes, cultural revivalists and people who were trying to fight for all that is good. Read the Proclamation. There is no nation on earth that would not be proud of the words in it. There is no hint of sectarianism or hate. It is about unity, fairness, equality and decency. It is a platform not just for Irish humanity but for world humanity. Those leaders inspired people across the world. We know the British Empire was an unjust empire, but the world was an unjust place as could be seen in the World War taking place at that time. It was a disaster in which working class people were slaughtered in fields in their hundreds of thousands and millions.

Our heroes, however, were not acting for popularity. They were visionaries. As they were led away they were jeered, but in a few short years the Irish people would realise what a wonderful legacy they had been given and would endorse in the first Dáil the 1916 Proclamation in their programme for government. That is our inheritance, and it is a wonderful inheritance. In 2012, however, much of that inheritance has been squandered. We have an economic crisis because we abandoned the ideals which they represented and gave to us. Knowing all that we know now about the greed that caused this crisis, are we really going to allow these buildings to be torn asunder?

I, too, had the honour of walking the route of Henry Place, Moore Lane and Moore Street. The hair stood on the back of my neck at the thought of these amazing and unbelievably courageous people being evacuated from the GPO and being led eventually into Moore Street, where they surrendered. Their spirit was defeated and they probably thought their struggle was defeated. If they only knew what they gave birth to. It is a wonderful story to tell, not just to Irish people but also to visitors from throughout the world. People around the world have looked at our history, and anybody who has had the privilege of travelling across the world will recall seeing the glint in people's eyes when they have told them they are Irish. Despite all our economic problems and the damage to our reputation, the stories people around the world think of are those of the 1916 Rising and Bobby Sands. That is what inspires them and gives them hope in their own struggles.

Now, when we have a chance to set this nation and island back in the right direction after the mess caused by greed, let us grasp the opportunity to do all we can to seize those buildings and send a signal that we value our inheritance and those who gave birth to what we have today, and that we intend to complete their journey. That is the challenge for the Members of this House. Can all Members of the House, of all political colours and creeds, unite on this issue? Then, perhaps, we would deserve the legacy we have been given.

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