Analysing the 1916 Proclamation

A chara, – Prof Eunan O'Halpin's piece on the 1916 Proclamation ("More a speech by Pearse than a constitution in embryo", Opinion & Analysis, March 28th) hardly did justice to that seminal document in modern Irish history. While it may have been hastily improvised, I think most people rereading and rehearing it in recent days would see the Proclamation as far more than a fragmentary speech. It is in fact a very coherent document that articulates a clear vision for an independent and democratic Irish republic.

Prof O’Halpin draws a parallel between the Proclamation’s promise of “civil and religious liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens” and the reference in the 1913 declaration of the Ulster provisional government to safeguarding the “Security of Civil and Religious Liberty to all Classes and Creeds”.

But even a cursory reading of these two documents shows that they are as far apart as chalk and cheese.

The Ulster document addresses itself only to “Ulstermen, free citizens of a united kingdom, born into possession of full rights and privileges under one King and one Imperial Parliament”. There is no mention whatsoever of women, and there is no mention whatsoever of “the equal rights and opportunities to all its citizens”, which the republic envisioned by Pearse and his companions sought to guarantee.

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Unlike the Ulster proclamation, which seeks to preserve the status quo in the face of the perceived threat posed by home rule, the 1916 Proclamation is a progressive document which looks to a future where all citizens are treated equally.

Prof O’Halpin says that the democratic roots of independent Ireland lie firstly in the December 1918 general election. At the first sitting of the Dáil which arose from that election the Proclamation was read out by Ceann Comhairle Cathal Brugha.

With its clarion call to Irishmen and Irishwomen, and its promise to cherish all the children of the nation equally, the Proclamation provided a succinct vision for an independent Ireland.

It resonated with the men and sole woman (Countess Markievicz) of the first Dáil and, as the public response to the current centenary commemorations demonstrates, it continues to resonate with Irish citizens today. – Is mise,

JOHN GLENNON,

Hollywood,

Co Wicklow.