1916 (64 page)

This highly popular series enabled the listening public to achieve a very informed knowledge on this compelling period of Irish history.

A similar co-operative series of essays, ‘1916: a historical review of the Easter Rising’, appeared as a special supplement of the
Irish Times
on 7 April 1966. These essays appeared as a volume two years later, edited by Owen Dudley Edwards and Fergus Pyle.
⁷⁶
The book formed an excellent complement to
Leaders and men
; while the latter dealt with personalities the former concentrated mainly on themes concerning the Rising and in the process posed many probing questions about the ideals, as well as the actions of the rebels. Although possessing some particularly fine contributions from F.S.L. Lyons, Nicholas Mansergh and Donal McCartney, the most significant contribution was Conor Cruise O’Brien’s ‘The Embers of Easter’, a deeply opinionated, deliberately provocative, but absorbing critique of the performance of the state since 1916.
⁷⁷
O’Brien, who had resigned in acrimonious circumstances from the Irish diplomatic corps in 1961, now accused all Irish governments since 1922 of betraying the revolutionary tradition of Tone, Pearse and Connolly. In particular, O’Brien used Connolly ‘as a knoute to scourge various opponents’, not realising then, of course, that there would later be a subsequent
rapprochement
with some of his erstwhile adversaries:
⁷⁸

Connolly’s Worker’s Republic is as far off as ever. The
Irish Independent
,
which in 1916 continued to call for more executions until it got Connolly, remained the paper of the Irish bourgeoisie. No significant Labour movement exists north or south. The Labour party has been dominated by dismal poltroons on the lines of O’Casey’s Uncle Payther. The economic progress which has occurred was mainly due to external forces … There is no cause in this anniversary year for self-congratulation.
⁷⁹

Although perhaps lacking the bite of O’Brien’s protestations, all the other Irish newspapers included supplements containing interesting comment not just on the Rising but on Irish achievement, or lack of, since 1916. The
Irish Press
,
in its supplement, included the final part of a series of articles on the performance of the Irish state since independence. It should be noted that at this time Tim Pat Coogan, shortly afterwards to be appointed editor of the paper, published his
Ireland since the Rising
,
which was the first attempt to offer such a synthesis of the story of independent Ireland in book form.
⁸⁰
Journals, such as
Administration
,
carried out similar studies. Practically every Irish journal included some reflection on both
the Rising and on the country in general since that year. The
Capuchin Annual
included a particularly impressive series of interviews on 1916 for its Easter issue.

The Jesuit journal
Studies
is also worthy of special mention in this regard. The Easter issue of the journal included a valuable article by Garret FitzGerald on the significance of 1916. It should also be noted here that Fr Francis Shaw, SJ, submitted what was later to become a renowned article, in which he strongly challenged traditional nationalist interpretations of 1916. The bulk of Shaw’s essay was devoted, in Roy Foster’s words, to ‘an intemperate attack on Pearse’s politics and actions’.
⁸¹
Shaw’s essay was not actually published by
Studies
until 1972, for, in his own words, ‘it was judged, very understandably, that a critical study of this kind might be thought to be untimely and even inappropriate in what was in effect a commemorative issue.’
⁸²
It was unfortunate that the article did not appear in 1966 because it certainly appears that the Irish public were sufficiently mature to have debated this highly interesting contribution to the study of the 1916 rebellion. The very fact that the article was written by a Catholic priest highlights the changes that had been occurring during the period. Indeed, the historian John A. Murphy has commented on how this period in Ireland witnessed ‘a new frankness of discussion, a spirit of positive self-criticism, a liberalisation of religious thinking with the pontificate of John XXIII, an increase in intellectual maturity, and a rejection of paternalism’.
⁸³

The Irish public’s appetite for history, particularly relating to 1916, at this time is surely embodied by the success of this multitude of publications. The popularity of the printed word on the subject of 1916 and the extensive coverage on radio of both the original event itself, as well as the commemorative ceremonies, are not, however, the only testimony of public interest in the commemoration. The national broadcasting service, Radio Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) set up only five years earlier, devoted unprecedented television coverage to the anniversary, adding immensely to its popular impact. Live coverage of all the principal national events was provided by the network. On Easter Sunday the first part of an eight day televised account of the Rising, written by Hugh Leonard, was broadcast. Insurrection told the day-to-day story of the Rising. It incorporated a modern studio current affairs and newsgathering format with dramatised sequences from the main locations of the Rising. The series was transmitted in full by the BBC and was also shown in Scandinavia, Belgium, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere around the world.
⁸⁴
Another series produced by RTÉ, On behalf of the Provisional Government, consisted of documentaries on each of the seven signatories to the 1916 Proclamation. A number of other programmes relating to the Rising were also aired on RTÉ during Easter week.

The Irish universities also took part in the commemorations. The New Ireland Association in Queens University Belfast organised a series of lectures, and even attempted to lure Seán Lemass to address one of its meetings. Students in Trinity College Dublin (TCD) printed a special journal,
50 Years On
,
to commemorate the Rising and managed to attract a number of highly respected contributors including Seán O’Faoláin and Senator Sheehy Sheffington. Most of the articles were highly critical of government policies since independence. As one of the student contributors, Bruce Arnold, commented:

We like to believe that 1916 was the exclusive vision of men who, because they attempted to translate their vision into reality, were destroyed. Since then we have witnessed the vain and hollow attempts of the nation to enshrine their vision while at every turn the business and practice of politics, commerce, Church and state have been a betrayal of it.
⁸⁵

University College Dublin (UCD) also organised a number of events to commemorate the Rising. A series of public lectures provided by UCD was later published as a book,
The Easter Rising, 1916 and University College Dublin
.
⁸⁶

The trade unions organised a special exhibition on the Rising in the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) in Ballsbridge. The exhibition highlighted the role of James Connolly in the Rising, reflecting the great interest among the broad labour movement in Connolly during the jubilee. Although he had often been somewhat marginalised in traditional interpretations of the Rising, in 1966 Connolly became the icon of the Irish left (including the evolving republican movement) and was usually used to provide a nationalist slant for socialist social and economic policies. Desmond Greaves, of the Communist Party of Ireland, had, in 1961, written a fine biography of Connolly, and he was now one of the many to lecture on Connolly as part of the jubilee.
⁸⁷

The jubilee events, the state-sponsored events in particular, drew great crowds throughout the country. Exhibitions relating to 1916 held in museums and galleries in different parts of Ireland all appear to have been very well attended. The Kilmainham gaol museum, which had its official opening during the jubilee, attracted very large numbers. Seán Lemass’ intuition when founding the Coiste Cuimhneachán, that the Irish public would expect a large series of commemorations, had proved correct. The popular appetite for 1916 commemorative fare was remarkable.

C
ONCLUSION

It is apparent from this study of the golden jubilee of the 1916 Rising that much modern comment on the Rising, of the type illustrated in the introduction, has not always been based on solid research. The description of the commemorations, as expensive splurges of triumphalism replete with Catholic verities, is clearly in need of revision. As has been evidenced, the state-sponsored events were not splurges of triumphalism but generally sombre and respectful. With regard to the cost of the commemorations, the matter was raised in the Dáil in 1969 when it was revealed that the total expenditure was a mere £108,122.
⁸⁸
Máire Breathnach, who controlled the financial side of the state-sponsored events for the Department of Finance, was notoriously penny-pinching.
⁸⁹
As regards Catholic verities there was no obvious tone of Catholicism to the events. In fact all of the main churches in the Republic took part enthusiastically in the commemorations. Only the Methodist and the Presbyterian churches did not take part as institutions
per se
,
though some individual members did participate in different ways.
⁹⁰

The assertion that the jubilee merely witnessed a glorification of the rebellion is not based on a sound awareness of the events in 1966. The claim that leaders like Pearse and Connolly were only promoted for their military exploits represents a gross simplification. As we have seen there was a wealth of material produced in the jubilee year on the ideas and ideals of Pearse and Connolly, including very high quality analysis and criticism. The general public were encouraged to educate themselves on these ideals, which was one of the main functions of the Coiste Cuimhneachán. As has been shown, the literature produced at this time on the ideals of 1916, some of which was sponsored by the government, was extremely impressive. The Irish public had an opportunity to educate themselves on a very important historical event in a way that they never had before. Something of this refreshing outlook was captured in an
Irish Times
article written during the commemorations:

In keeping with these indications of maturity is the run on bookshops where works about Ireland – not necessarily on the Rising – have been in demand. The effect of the ceremonies is to alert or shame those who have not bothered to study history to take a course of it now. And by this everybody benefits. It has been said ever so often that the Irish should forget their history. This is not true. They should reach enough of it to be able to discern truth from propaganda. A well-stocked mind cannot be a narrow and is less likely to be a bitter one than when the mental diet has been a select list of prejudices. It was also encouraging to see so many people in the Museum, which has made a very commendable effort for the occasion. Even to the least sympathetic observer there must be something infinitely touching about many of the relics collected here. The galleries too have put on exhibitions, and everywhere there are signs of intelligent curiosity about the events of a half a century ago, which, to at least one generation, has seemed as remote as the Cromwellian campaign. There were reasonable fears that the celebrations might spark off explosions, but the weekend has come and gone, and such altercations as have reached the public’s attention were very minor indeed. On the other side can be claimed now a mood of reappraisal in some cases, in others a desire to know. It has been apparent since the state began that balance and maturity were essential on the vexed question of the state’s origins. Perhaps we have reached the stage now. If as the President said yesterday, Emmet’s epitaph cannot yet be written, the reason why can at least be discussed without dust and heat. And that is something.
⁹¹

In terms of the ideals of Pearse and Connolly regarding education and justice, it should be borne in mind that the 1960s was a period of enormous importance in both spheres. In education the 1960s was a period of great excitement and change. A series of highly capable ministers held the education portfolio and there were many new initiatives. Indeed just a few months after the commemorations Lemass endorsed Donagh O’Malley’s statement of intention to introduce a comprehensive system of free post-primary education – arguably the most important step in the history of education in post-independence Ireland.

Lemass did not use the jubilee as an opportunity to glorify in the Fianna Fáil party tradition, gloating over achievements and successes. At a party gathering in Galway on 9 October 1965, while setting out his hopes for the commemorations, he was prepared to admit that the party had experienced failures and setbacks:

For us in Fianna Fáil, and indeed for all who are sincerely interested in the future of our country, the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the 1916 Rising, while signifying primarily our understanding of its historical importance, will also be a time of national stocktaking, and for trying to look ahead into the mists of the future to see the right road leading to the high destiny we desire for our nation. During these past fifty years there have been tremendous changes in Irish circumstances, mostly good. Of course we have had our disappointments and setbacks, in many spheres our achievements have been less than our hopes. But it can be said that the faith of the leaders of 1916, and of all those who in earlier times had inspired our people to continue to strive for freedom, has been justified, and that the Irish people have demonstrated, beyond argument, their capacity in freedom to manage their affairs in calmness and in confidence, and at least as successfully as other nations. It is right that we should now be concentrating our attention on the opportunities of the future and not on the wrongs of the past. It is our hope that the commemoration of the 1916 Uprising will lead to a new birth of patriotism – a constructive patriotism which will be in tune with the needs and circumstances of our times, and capable of being organised and disciplined to meet the ever-changing conditions that will face us in the future.
⁹²