Dáil debates

Tuesday, 20 June 2017

Priority Questions

Commemorative Events

5:20 pm

Photo of Peadar TóibínPeadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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57. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht when the next meeting of the all-party consultation group on commemorations will take place. [27895/17]

Photo of Peadar TóibínPeadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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The Government got off to a very shaky start a number of years ago with regard to the commemoration of the 1916 Rising. We had the embarrassment of the video launch which was full of celebrities and individuals who had nothing to do with the 1916 Rising but was void of the ideals and characters of that Rising. We had the insults to the Irish language, the language of the cultural revolution, when it was Google translated. Then, we had the cap-tipping proposal that the British royals would come to oversee the commemorations. What has happened to the all-party consultation group on commemorations?

Photo of Michael RingMichael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Minister is committed to re-establishing the Oireachtas all-party consultation committee on commemorations. She intends to put in place the practical arrangements to reconstitute the group very shortly. In the period leading up to the 1916 centenary commemorations, the all-party consultation committee on commemorations was instrumental in promoting an open, consensus-based and honest approach which allowed all narratives to be heard and ensured that the State reflected appropriately on all the major historical events as they unfolded. The work of the committee complemented the work of the expert advisory group on commemorations which also advised the Government on the approach based on the authentic history of the period.

The Government will continue to mark significant events throughout the second half of the decade of centenaries. This includes the Easter commemorations ceremonies to mark the Easter Rising and events to mark the progress of the First World War. For example, two weeks ago the Minister attended commemorations of the Battle of Messines Ridge at the Island of Ireland Peace Park in Messines, which were jointly led by the Governments of Ireland and the UK, in partnership with the Mayor of Messines. On the Sunday of that week, the Minister was honoured to lay a wreath on behalf of the Irish Government at the War Memorial, Armagh, in memory of the men of the 16th Irish Division and the 36th Ulster Division who fought side by side in that battle. Last weekend I attended a special ceremony to mark the centenary of the foundation of Leopardstown Park Hospital as a convalescent home and hospital for the treatment of soldiers injured in the First World War.

I believe that both the all-party committee and the expert advisory group have a significant contribution to make in regard to the second half of the decade of centenaries and I am looking forward to continued positive engagement and consultation with both groups over the coming period.

Photo of Peadar TóibínPeadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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The Government is again on shaky ground, just as it was at the start of the 1916 rising commemorations. Not only has the Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh, not turned up for his first questions, but we have an answer from the senior Minister stating that, at the mid-point of the decade of commemorations, we will have something up and running fairly shortly. Given the fact the all-party consultation group on commemorations was the vehicle that actually put the Government back on the right path before the 1916 Rising commemorations, it is shameful that this consultation group is not up and running at this stage.

It seems there is a dissonance in Fine Gael with regard to the commemorations of the republican revolution. I asked why the commemoration committee on the republican revolution was not up and running. Perhaps the answer is in the question. There is a strong Redmondite wing to Fine Gael which has difficulty with some of the details of that decade of the Irish revolution. John Bruton articulated his views on the 1916 Rising and it seems his view was that the only decent Irish soldier that existed before 1922 was one in a British uniform.

I urge the Minister who is present to make sure he passes on to his colleagues that this issue must be grasped immediately and that the consultation group must be constituted as soon as possible.

Photo of Michael RingMichael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I will not debate with the Deputy about the Redmondites and John Bruton and we are not going to rewrite the history of this. However, it must be agreed the commemoration was a very successful event. Everybody has been complimented, including the Minister, the State agencies, the local authorities and the general public. The whole country and community responded and everybody agrees it was a major success.

I will pass on the Deputy's views to the Ministers. I am sure the committee will be reconvened. To be fair, it was an equal committee with representation from all sides. It was not controlled by anybody and everybody had a say. As I said, it was a tremendous event and a tremendous year, which worked very well for the country and the State.

Photo of Peadar TóibínPeadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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I agree the commemorations were terrific and that they grasped the imagination of the nation at the time. As I said, however, the key to reorientating what was a catastrophe at the start was the all-party group. Commemorations are about events and this year, 2017, sees the anniversary of the by-election victories of the Sinn Féin candidates, Count Plunkett, WT Cosgrave and Eamon de Valera. I ask what the Department has done to commemorate these events.

Photo of Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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There were four. What about Joseph McGuinness?

Photo of Peadar TóibínPeadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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What has the Government done to officially commemorate these events? Some people say Sinn Féin tried to commandeer republicanism in this country. I am of the view that we do not own republicanism. However, the lack of interest of the Government towards commemorating these important republican events only leads me to believe the Government does not have any interest in taking hold or taking ownership of these key events in the development and evolution of the Republic. I ask the Minister again to give us a date.

Photo of Michael RingMichael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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We have to be fair. The Government was not afraid to deal with the commemorations over the last year and it did an excellent job. There was consultation with everybody and it worked out very well. The Deputy is correct that Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil or anybody else does not own republicanism. I come from a very strong republican background.

My grand-uncle was killed in 1921. He took the Free State side, of which I am very proud. Let nobody think they have ownership of the republican movement. This was not about the republican movement, it was about the State honouring the commemoration. I compliment the Minister, the Department, the State agencies and everybody. The celebrations that took place in this city on Easter Sunday were a credit not alone to Dublin but to the country and the world. The amount of people who wrote articles afterwards that complimented everybody involved showed we had grown up as a State and did very well as a country. The other commemorations will be honoured and will be done in a very detailed way. People will be consulted. That group will be established again. I hope it can be done as a mark of respect to everybody.