Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is very welcome to the House, and I welcome this opportunity to put a few points to her. I will address the 1916 commemorations, which are the most significant ones. It was a watershed moment in the history of this independent State. While other areas deserve to be commemorated, I will not be able to cover all of them in a short five minutes, so I will deal only with the 1916 commemorations, an area in which I am particularly interested. I welcome the Minister's speech, which I saw on the monitor. I know it is not easy when there are many different groups representing many different people. I have had a number of meetings with the 1916 Relatives' Association. The Minister has a role in trying to bring these groups together and get agreement about how we move forward together. People will always have different views and it is not that anyone is trying to be difficult. They just have different views. It is not helpful that certain events might be boycotted. That is not the way to do it. The Minister can bring them together. It will not be a one-hour meeting, because the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising will be the most significant commemoration in the history of this State. While people talk about the Home Rule Bill and the passing of various different measures, in the scheme of all the commemorations, the 1916 commemorations are the most important and significant. We talk about different traditions, and I fully respect that, as members of my family come from different traditions. Two of my direct relatives fought in the 1916 Rising in the 4th Battalion Dublin Brigade of the IRA, while other family members served in the British Army. Let us deal with the commemoration that is approaching, which is that of the 1916 Rising.

I want to put it very clearly on the record that while this Government talks about inclusivity, with which I agree, I find it wholly inappropriate for any invitation to be issued to any member of the British royal family to attend the 100th anniversary commemorations of the 1916 Rising. If we were to do that, it would debase the commemorations. If we were to invite a member of the British royal family to attend, we might as well invite the relatives of General Sir John Maxwell along as well and apologise for the distress we put their great-grandfather through when he decided to execute the leaders of the 1916 Rising. We have changed our relationship with Great Britain, and I very much welcome that. I welcomed the visit of Queen Elizabeth to Dublin and the reciprocal visit by our President to Great Britain, but let us be straight about it: the 1916 commemorations relate to the fact that people in Ireland stood up to the might of the British Empire. The people who went out over Easter week knew they would not be successful, and they sacrificed themselves for the greater good of the Irish people. As the Minister knows, many of its leaders were brutally executed afterwards, so on that basis it would be inappropriate.

I welcome the educational initiative through our schools. Not enough about 1916 and the struggle for independence is taught in our schools. There is not enough focus on these events. I concur completely with Senators Bacik and Daly about the role of Cumann na mBan, the role of women and the role of smaller groups in our society. I think of people such as Francis Sheehy-Skeffington and the pacifist movement. These people need to be recognised as well.

In respect of how to commemorate the last site of the Rising, Moore Street, where the leaders went after leaving the GPO, I welcome the decision by Dublin City Council to reject the proposals that were made. We are better off getting it right than just having something ready for 1916. The main commemorations will happen at the GPO, and rightly so. However, the Minister could call for a fully independent battlefield site survey. This needs to be carried out. In fairness, nobody in the council can tell me why this has not been done. It is being done on behalf of the owners, Chartered Land, and NAMA. It is being done by their own people, but a full battlefield site survey needs to be carried out.

I would say to those who would warn against any militaristic or overly militaristic commemorations that it gives us an opportunity to celebrate the role of the Irish Defence Forces and our gardaí. It is wholly appropriate that the parade would be led by what is now Óglaigh na hÉireann - our Irish Army - whose predecessors took part in the 1916 Rising.

I know we will have an opportunity to discuss this further, and I welcome some of the announcements. I hope the Minister reaches out to the 1916 Relatives' Association. She needs to mend those fences. I am not putting that down to her, but those fences need to be mended. We need those groups on board. From my perspective and that of my party, I do not believe it is appropriate for members of the British royal family to be given an invitation to the parade on Easter Sunday in Dublin, and I strongly reject any proposal to do that.