David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, our colleague, Senator Zappone, welcomed the fact that she believes the Government will introduce what she described as reform of the university seats. That reform will expand the constituency to 850,000 voters. Once one takes into account the fact that Senator Zappone was appointed and did not have to face an election, it is easy to be airy-fairy about other people's elections. I put that in contrast with the fact that next week, there will be a by-election in which the total poll will be less than 250 votes and the Taoiseach is doing nothing about that.
I would like to commend John Bruton on his analysis of 1916. The Redmondite tradition is a very honourable one and should be commended. It is the main tradition of nationalism in this country, going back to the great figure of Daniel O'Connell, Parnell and Redmond, of non-violence. I think of this particularly because we should, in this House and as a Parliament, note the fact that today is the 100th anniversary of the passage of the Home Rule Bill in Westminster, which was a very significant achievement. I know the leaders of 1916 were shot and that was a great political mistake and a great human one but that was in the middle of a war and the government felt it was being shot in the back. One should put it in the context of the time. I was part of the Shot at Dawn Campaign which tried to look after the interests of 16 year old kids who were shell shocked and then shot because, in their state of nervous paralysis, they did not take their cap off in the presence of an officer. That is the kind of context in which this took place.
If one looks at 1916, I believe Yeats was correct in his first impression of some of these people when he said that they were vainglorious. Indeed, they were. They were afraid that history would write them out. They were seen by the British as traitors to the Empire but they were traitors to their own cause because Eoin MacNeill, the commander-in-chief, had cancelled the Rising and yet they ignored that. I have read Claíomh Solaisby Pádraig Pearse and all the racist pap in it about the Gaul and the Gael and all this kind of stuff. His father was an English Protestant. Cathal Brugha was Charlie Burgess and Éamonn Ceant was Edward Kent. It is really quite ridiculous.
In the Proclamation, which contains some good things, when they referred to our gallant allies in Europe, they were actually talking about the Kaiser and his armies which trampled over little Catholic Belgium and engaged in war crimes. I think it is no harm for us to put these matters in context and to re-establish the central, democratic and parliamentary tradition in which this House from the days of Grattan through to O'Connell through to Parnell and through to Redmond should be prepared to celebrate and honour.