Below is the speech given by Éamon Gilmore, leader of the Labour Party, at the special Dáil sitting to mark the 90th Anniversary of the First Dáil.
A Cheann Comhairle Sa tseomra seo, nócha bliain ó shoin, cuireadh feoil dhaonlathach ar ídéalacha Éirí Amach na Cásca. Ar an láthair stairiúil seo, deineadh an réabhlóid a dhaonlathu. Don chéad uair, í stair na hÉireann, leagadh síos clár oibre polaitiúil chun an réabhlóid a thabhairt chun foirfeachta.
Bhí an Clár Daonlathach i measc ornáidí na Céad Dála. Clár a scríobh Tom Johnson, Ceannaire an Lucht Oibre ag an am. Agus labhraíonn na prionsabail a shoilsíonn an clár sin fós dúinn sa lá atá inniu ann — Saoirse, Ionannas agus an Ceart don uile dhuine — rosc daonlathach dúinn, oidhrí na Céad Dála.
In this Round Room, ninety years ago, the old ways came to an end and a new era was begun.
On January 21st 1919, as our first TDs gathered here, life for most people in Ireland was very hard. Europe had just been ravaged and re-divided by a bloody, senseless, imperialist war which claimed the lives of 50,000 of our fellow Irishmen.
Another 10,000 people had died from flu in the previous year. Hundreds of thousands lived in slums and abject poverty.
The General Election of 1918 was the first when all adult men and almost all women got the vote. Two out of every three voters in 1918 were on the electoral register for the first time. And they used this new political opportunity to sweep away the old order. Away with the seemingly impregnable Irish Parliamentary Party which had been built up by Parnell.
Now replaced by a popular Independence Movement.
And instead of going to Westminster they came here. To build something new. A democratic parliament, that owed much to the liberal liberal parliamentary tradition which had supported the Irish cause in the latter part of the nineteenth century.
The proceedings that day were short, but the objectives were great. A declaration of independence. An appeal to the Nations of the world, read in Irish English and French in the hope that Ireland’s cause would be seated at the post war peace conference. And the Democratic Programme, setting out a vision for what democracy and independence could mean in practice for the people of the country.
The Democratic Programme was written by the then Leader of the Labour Party, Tom Johnson.
But Johnson and his colleagues were not TDs in that first Dail, because Labour had decided not to contest the 1918
Election, so as not to split the vote of the Independence Movement. That was a patriotic, selfless decision, putting country before party by a Labour Movement which was playing a central role in the events of the time. Labour was pivotal in the anti-conscription campaign which mobilised Irish people in the run-up to the election, including the organisation of a General Strike.
And it was Labour which won the very first international recognition for Ireland’s independence at the Socialist International in Berne in 1919, a few weeks after that meeting of the First Dail.
The Democratic Programme of the First Dail was steeped in the ideals of Labour and was brimming with optimism.
90 years later, those same values were never more relevant. And the optimism was never more necessary.
Echoing down the years the words of the Democratic Programme, reproach us, challenge us and yet inspire us. Even before our present economic difficulties, as a country we had not vindicated what the progeramme called “the right of every citizen to an adequate share of the produce of the Nation’s labour” Mired as we are again in scandal about the abuse of children, and considering the consequences of cutbacks in education, can we say that we have lived up to the objective that “the first duty of the Government of the Republic is to make provision for the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of the children”.
Can the elderly patient lying on a hospital trolley, or the pensioners defending their medical cards and their pension rights feel that “the nation’s aged and infirm shall not be regarded as a burden, but rather entitled to the nation’s gratitude and consideration”
As we see this week how a small number of greedy individuals have brought economic havoc to our country, we can reflect on the simple statement “that it is the duty of every man and woman to give service”. And as thousands lose their jobs, that “it is the duty of the Nation to assure that every citizen shall have opportunity to spend his or her strength and faculties in the service of the people” This day of commemoration comes at another difficult moment in our country’s history, when we are confronted again with the human cosequences of economic mistakes. A time of uncertainty and apprehension.
But we can take heart from the pioneers who assembled here 90 years ago.
We too can make a new beginning.
That first Dail faced near impossible obstacles. What they achieved was not inevitable. They endured pain. But they chose to make new history.
They were free because they refused to be prisoners of their past. In this our time as we face our moment of national crisis, we should be inspired by their words and by their courage. We too can forge a new beginning and sweep away the failings of the past. We too can be inspired to build a sustainable posperity and a fair society. A country that respects its old and values its young. A country governed as the First Dail decided, by the principles of Liberty, Equality and Justice for all.
I know it is not possible to make a formal proposal here, but may I suggest that we consider making January 21st our national Independence Day.
Braithim timpeall orainn inniu, taibhsí fathaigh na Céad Dála nár loic an chrógacht orthu. Fir is mná a raibh se de dhánaíocht acu brionglóid nua a shabhlú do mhuintir na hÉireann. Brionglóid oscailte, iolrach. Brionglóid a thabharfadh saoirse on mbochtannas, brionglóid a chuirfeadh ina seasamh ar an dá chóis féin iad.
Agus sé dúshlán na linne seo ná, an chrógacht a shealbhú arís le paisean — ionas nach mbeidh sé le rá i gcionn céad bliain eile, gur sinne an ghlúin a thug droim láimhe don Phoblacht Iolrach Daonlathach sin, a tháinig ar an saol ina leanbh, ar urlár an tseomra seo nócha bliain ó shoin.