Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This year marks the commemoration of the Home Rule Bill and the Ulster Covenant. I know there were concerns, particularly ahead of the events in Balmoral in April and, more recently, on 29 September, and I am very pleased the events passed peacefully. I commend all those who took an active role in working with communities and different interests to ensure that was the case. In a way that has set a headline for the commemoration of events. The events must be commemorated in an inclusive way. I am very conscious of the North-South dimension of all this, which is why I have discussed it with the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister. The matter is part of our North-South dialogue. It is the reason I took the initiative to hold an event in Iveagh House commemorating Edward Carson - the Edward Carson lecture. He was a Dublin man who was born around the corner from St. Stephen's Green, and his associations were with Dublin. The First Minister, Mr. Peter Robinson, MLA, delivered the lecture. It was a very inclusive event. Representatives of all political parties, North and South, were present, along with a large number of historians and people with an interest in the period.

That is the way we should move forward. It is about historical accuracy, respect and remembering. However, it is also about moving forward. In doing so it is important that we widen the canvas. While great events such as the struggle for independence were taking place, people were getting on with their lives. It is important in remembering what happened 100 years ago that we put it in the context of the way in which people lived at that time and the suffering they underwent, be it as a result of losing loved ones in the Great War, in the struggle itself or simply because of the poverty and ill health that was endemic on both parts of the island.

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