Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Bheadh sé tráthúil agus cabhrach dá mbeadh díospóireacht againn ar chomóradh Éirí Amach na Cásca. Tá an díospóireacht seo ag tarlú i measc an phobail agus sna meáin i láthair na huaire. Tá stádas faoi leith ag Seanad Éireann chun a bheith páirteach sa díospóireacht sin.

I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Heather Humphreys, who chairs the all-party committee that will be dealing with the centenary commemoration of 1916, to update us on the State plans for this commemoration. There is a vacuum which is being filled by leaks from the all-party committee. That is not helpful because the debate that ensues from those leaks is not comprehensive and is creating a lot of confusion among the public. I believe it would be an impoverished nation that would benefit from the fruits of the sacrifices of our patriots and yet ignore their memory, misrepresent them or even worse still, endeavour to trample on their legacy, even if that is part of a great political secret or plan which is perhaps being crafted at present but of which the public is not aware.

I believe every Member, including Senator Norris, appreciates what 1916 really meant. It is all there in the Proclamation of 1916. It is possibly one of the shortest charters of Irish independence, and yet it is so visionary in so many ways that many of the sentiments and aspirations are still relevant to this day. Anybody with the slightest open-minded interest in history knows full well that the men and women of 1916 went out to fight an impossible fight at that stage. It was certainly a matter of right against might - the might of the British Empire at that time. If we try through some method or deliberately set out to distract from 1916 in the midst of all the other commemorations, all of which are legitimate in their own right, I believe we challenge the morale of our own people. It was quite clear in the ensuing general election after 1916 where the people's wishes were at that time. There is another aspect to this. Not only would we challenge our morale as a nation, we would also diminish the respect in those countries that were inspired by the 1916 Rising. Whatever political views we have or whatever political plans may be hatched to play down the 1916 commemoration, it is important to look at the bigger picture, and I genuinely believe that is what the people want us to do. I am totally committed to integrating North and South further and to having greater interaction. I saw this for myself in Derry, as did Senator Jim D'Arcy, at the Fleadh Cheoil last year. When we went to the Waterside, we met the loyalist leaders and made presentations to them. I will never forget one loyalist who came up and put his arm around me and said that this has been one of the greatest weeks in the history of their city. He went a step further when he said that they will teach those in Belfast how they should behave. To me that interaction is taking place and we can have a commemoration of 1916 and still respect the other traditions on this island. I plead that we do not minimise it to the point that all we are interested in is scoring points or putting forward petty agendas. This would not be worthy of us as a Seanad, a people and a nation and I hope we do not go down that road.