1916 Centenary Commemoration - A terrible beauty is born
All changed, changed utterly -
A terrible beauty is born.
I can think of no better words to sum up the birth of Ireland than these two lines by poet and nobel laureate William Butler Yeats. Ireland as we know it was born in a maelstrom of violence, rivalry and hatred, and shadows of this maelstrom reach us even now, in a modern Ireland at the dawn of the 21st century. The Easter Proclamation, the document from which the Irish state draws its very legitimacy, and which has been elevated almost to the status of a mystic relic, remains unfulfilled, its promise of equal rights and civil liberties for all remaining hollow for women, who aren't even afforded the very basic right to decide over their own body. As for the myths surrounding the Easter Rising itself, well, I already wrote at length about the hypocrisy and almost pagan idolatry that surrounds it in an earlier article.
And yet, since that article was published back on October 3rd, 2015, something has changed. Changed utterly, if you excuse the cheap pun at Yeats' expense. It is the way the Rising has been seen by the Irish themselves. Instead of just putting the uprising onto a pedestal and idolising it, questions are being asked. Have the goals of the Rising been fulfilled? Are we living up to the ideals that were announced on the steps of the GPO back in 1916? Are we still striving to fulfil them, or have they fallen by the wayside? Was the Easter Rising justified, or even justifiable? All this is being debated openly, as is the absurd amateurishness of many of the decisions by the insurgents back in 1916. I mean, digging trenches to defend St. Stephens Green, an inner city park surrounded on all sides by 4-5 story buildings? Without at least securing some of those buildings and putting sentries on the roof? Really? Any private fresh out of infantry school would have known better. Most importantly, though, the yearlong program of commemorations currently underway have utilised the rising as a waypoint by which to judge how far the nation has come, rather than the summit of Irish history and achievements.
Nowhere was this more evident than at the state commemoration ceremony yesterday in Dublin. Central fixture of this ceremony was a massive military parade through Dublin city center, along O'Connell Street and past the General Post Office, the headquarters of that handful of rebels a century ago. And massive is an apt word to describe it, given that it was led by over 3500 members of the Irish Defence Forces, nearly a third of the entire force. As rows upon rows of soldiers, sailors and airmen filed past the GPO, dressed in their best parade uniforms, rifles on their shoulders, bayonets glittering in the sun, interspersed with armoured personnel carriers, artillery pieces, and even a few of the elusive FV-101 Scorpion light tanks, the progress Ireland had made in those 100 years really became clear. From a desperately impoverished outcrop on the western fringe of Europe, riven with hatred and rivalry, Ireland had evolved into a prosperous, self-assured and vigilant democracy. Several flypasts by just about every airworthy aircraft in the fleet of the Irish Air Corps reinforced that point. Given that Dublin was at the receiving end of gale force winds gusting to storm force, and that squalls kept moving across the Dublin area, the exception skill of the Air Corps flight crews shone through. In these difficult condition, it takes a special kind of skill and guts to fly in close formation at low level over a densely populated urban centre. All the while, near the mouth of the Liffey, not far from the spot where HMS Helga had shelled Liberty Hall back in 1916, lay two more symbols of Irish sovereignty, and the progress that had been made: Two Irish warships, the offshore patrol vessel LÉ Samuel Beckett (P61) and the gunboat LÉ Ciara (P42).
Despite possessing a small but capable army, Ireland has, owing to its own bloody and traumatic birth, always maintained a neutral position in its international relations. This has not stopped Ireland from stepping up to the plate abroad when it was called upon, especially under the auspices of the United Nations. From 1958 onwards, Irish soldiers wearing the blue helmet or beret have served just about everywhere between Congo and East Timor. In fact, it was Congo that saw both the largest combat action the Defence Forces were ever involved in, the Sieget of Jadotville, and the largest single loss of life, the Niemba massacre, in which nine members of an eleven man Irish patrol were slaughtered. All in all, since 1958, 86 members of the Irish Defence Forces have given their life while serving abroad for the UN. It is more than fitting then that the veterans of these deployments, many of whom have seen combat, were given a special place of honour within the parade, as well as a large section showcasing their kit, uniforms and vehicles at the time. If there is a better indicator for the progress the Irish nation has made since its foundation than the fact that this nation, borne out of bitterness and strife, is now helping other countries overcome their own internal conflicts, I can't think of any.
Reading through those last few paragraphs, one could be forgiven for thinking that Ireland is a militaristic monstrosity along the lines of North Korea or the US, however nothing could be farther from the truth. The fact remains however that the Easter Rising was an armed uprising and could even be legitimately considered a military operations, no matter how poorly planned it was. Given the fact that the Óglaigh na hÉireann (now there's a phrase to drive Autocorrect up the walls) as the Irish Defence Forces are known in Irish, trace their origin to the Irish Volunteers who provided a significant part of the manpower back in 1916, it is simply logical that they played a major part in this parade.
Reading through those last few paragraphs, one could be forgiven for thinking that Ireland is a militaristic monstrosity along the lines of North Korea or the US, however nothing could be farther from the truth. The fact remains however that the Easter Rising was an armed uprising and could even be legitimately considered a military operations, no matter how poorly planned it was. Given the fact that the Óglaigh na hÉireann (now there's a phrase to drive Autocorrect up the walls) as the Irish Defence Forces are known in Irish, trace their origin to the Irish Volunteers who provided a significant part of the manpower back in 1916, it is simply logical that they played a major part in this parade.
That is not to say that the civil part of society wasn't represented, far from it. A significant part of the parade, starting right after the UN display, was made up by what is known as the blue light services in Ireland. An Garda Siochana, the Irish police showed up with a large presence, as did the Irish Prison Service. Of course, the fire brigades were represented as well, as were the ambulance services, Civil Defence, and the Irish Coast Guard. Included in this impressive lineup of civilian service was one particular organisation that I have always had the highest respect for, the RNLI. The Royal National Lifeboat Association is an all volunteer organisation that handles maritime rescue along the coasts of the British Isles. Given that Ireland, due to its position out in the Atlantic, often gets subjected to hurricane force winds during the winter storm season, and that wave heights of 12-13 meters aren't unusual during these storms, it takes a special kind of person to venture out into the worst that the North Atlantic can throw at you. The bravery and sheer guts of the volunteers serving on these lifeboats can't be underestimated.
Revolutions are never just the result of the rejection of a certain system or way of life. It is always too easy to simply reject something you don't agree with. It takes effort to come up with a replacement for the system you're rejecting. That however is what happened in the years and decades leading up to 1916. The rising can be seen as a first bloody pinnacle of an Irish renaissance in the arts, literature, and music that had been gathering momentum ever since the repeal of the Penal Laws back in 1829. Therefore, many of those taking part in the Easter Rising in Dublin, or indeed the mobilisation of the Irish Volunteers throughout the country, were teachers, playwrights, journalists, musicians, or poets, and any commemoration of the rising would be incomplete without paying homage to this aspect of the events of 1916.
It seems strangely fitting that the site for this tribute to Irish culture, was held in Collins Barracks. This originally British military installation had, while carrying its original name Royal Barracks, been one of the bases of operations for the fight against the insurgents. Now, this historic structure would play host to a big concert showcasing the cultural development of Ireland. Big really is the operative word, as the concert would see no less than 1114 singers from 31 choirs from all over Ireland, accompanied by the RTE National Symphony Orchestra. Few places could be more symbolic for the evolution of Ireland from a nation torn apart by war to a modern and, as far as the 26 counties are concerned, united nation than this bleak, imposing barracks, which has been turned into a museum commemorating the culture and history of Ireland.
There can be no doubt that Ireland has a long way ahead of it to live up and fulfil the ideals and values of the Easter Proclamation. And while certain parts of the Irish population still treat the Easter Rising in an unpalatable and questionable manner, this past weekend should also be used to look back, and to see just how far this small, rocky island on the periphery of Europe has come over the last 100 years.
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