1916 rising

Legacy of 1916 is “two amputee states” and events which do not deserve to be celebrated?

Mick Fealty on March 24, 2016, 5:08 pm

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This 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising has been an oddly damp affair. For all the great chatter about who was going to be in government by Easter 2016, it turns out that no one is. Possibly that’s appropriate for a most ungovernmently type of revolution. The so-called Decade of Commemorations framed by the last Fianna Fail led government as having the potential to promote reconciliation is barely mentioned these days. The preparations have either been partial or a grand exercise in political …

1916 is still worth a fret or two

Brian Walker on March 21, 2016, 3:28 pm

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I’ve just finished reading my latest foray into an absorbing subject, Ruth Dudley Edwards’s magnificent The Seven, her biographical account of the main leaders of the Easter Rising, guardedly but critically reviewed by the historian and Irish Times columnist Diarmaid Ferriter here. While Ruth may be dismissed by some as the arch revisionist, no reader can deny her command of biographical detail ( much of it her own research, some of it owing to many others who have written about …

1916-2016 play Rebellion has its premiere in Glasgow…

Mick Fealty on March 17, 2016, 12:51 pm

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Worth a mention, given the day that’s in it. One of our bloggers Phil Mac Giolla Bhain has just ended a short run of his play Rebellion in his native Glasgow. Rebellion is themed around the rediscovery of a family history tracing one Glaswegian family back several generations to the 1916 Rising. Former Herald journo, Robbie Dinwoodie was there on Monday, I think… Elements which appealed to these Glasgow audiences, particularly the Rangers-supporting character who is the butt of many …

#Women1916 “…the war broke out in families as well as society…”

Mick Fealty on March 8, 2016, 1:57 pm

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This discussion is worth taking time to listen to, not just because it looks at the Rising from the point of view of women’s history, but it also considers why the social radicalism of many who took part seemed to vanish so quickly. The panel consists of Prof Roy Foster, Carroll Professor of Irish History, Hertford College, Oxford, Prof Senia Paseta, Professor of Modern History, St Hugh’s College, Oxford and Dr. Lauren Arrington, Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Irish …

Why Some Councils Need to Relax over 2016 Commemorations

David McCann on January 5, 2016, 3:13 pm

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AT EASE WITH OURSELVES: Over the past number of weeks, I have been thinking a bit about 2016. How do we in a divided society remember and commemorate the centenaries of two hugely important events in our history, namely the Easter Rising and The Somme? There are some who want to pursue a course of a hierarchy of commemorations. Last night Antrim and Newtownabbey council made a decision to support £50,000 for Somme events, whilst opposing money to commemorate the Easter Rising.

From Bannisters To The Iron Harvest. 1916 and all that…

Samuel Thompson on January 3, 2016, 7:00 am

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I saw an unusual tweet a few weeks ago. Someone had posted a picture of a bannister. That seemed strange until I read the caption and discovered the bannister was in a house where James Connolly had once lived. The tweeter expressed pleasure, perhaps awe, at sliding his hand along an object his hero had once used and it got me thinking about our relationship with the past and how objects and places and can make it come to life …

UUP considering hosting 1916 event in Dublin.

David McCann on November 6, 2015, 7:18 pm

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Chris Page from the BBC reports this story; The Ulster Unionist Party is giving “active and positive consideration” to holding its own event in Dublin next year for the hundredth anniversary of the Easter Rising. The party leader Mike Nesbitt says the event would be held “not to celebrate, but to challenge the causes and consequences of the Rising”. He says Ulster Unionists over recent years have gone to Grangegorman Cemetery in Dublin, where British soldiers who died in the …

1916 Centenary – Cherishing All the Children Equally?

Patricia MacBride on April 1, 2015, 4:53 pm

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Yesterday we saw the government reveal more detailed plans regarding the official commemoration of the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising. Plans to mark this key event in the history of the state include a major exhibition of 1916 archival material at the National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks and series of commemorative events, including a parade from Dublin Castle to Parnell Square on Easter Sunday 2016 and a special state reception for the 1916 relatives. In order to …

For Scotland today, idealism like Ireland 1916, or be careful of what you wish for?

Brian Walker on October 23, 2014, 1:46 pm

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Guardian columnist Martin Kettle makes a bold comparison between the generational change in Ireland 1916 and the “energising “ impact of the Scottish independence referendum of 2014. He’s inspired by Roy Foster’s marvellous new book which I’m only just into: “Vivid Faces.” In his review Maurice Hayes quotes Holywood’s Bulmer Hobson who faced house arrest by his own compatriots who feared his dissent from the countermanding order. Those who began the great adventure with high hopes for social and political …

1916 Rising and how it inspired me 78 years later.

David McCann on April 20, 2014, 3:23 pm

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There are a lot of pieces going around today looking back at the Rising and its subsequent impact on the direction of Irish politics. But, I wanted to tell a different story of how the Rising inspired me and impacted on my future direction and beliefs. I don’t claim that this story is indicative of anything, other than my own political values, nor do I believe it is more valuable than other stories, which I hope commentators will share in …