Sir, – It seems appropriate that a state should commemorate its origins and foundation and, like it or not, Easter 1916 altered the course of Irish history and led to the foundation of what would become the current State. No amount of distaste or admiration for the events then can alter this fact.
Since this is the history we’ve got, and we’re stuck with it, would it not be a better use of our national intellectual energies to try to more fully understand the Rising – its context and its consequences down to the present day – rather than lamenting or lauding the audacity of its leaders or fretting over whether the “right” events are being commemorated? – Yours, etc,
MARTIN JOHN
McANDREW,
Glasnevin,
Dublin 11.
Sir, – Surely the critique of the men of 1916 puts the cart before the horse. What issued from the Irish revolution, largely as result of the Civil War, was a socially conservative, Catholic state. This state took Pearse as it hero. A socialist state would have taken Connolly; a more traditionally republican state might have taken Clarke or Mac Diarmada.
The political complexion of the State was decided by the Civil War, and the appropriate leader from 1916 was then turned into an icon. – Yours, etc,
FRANK FITZPATRICK,
Dublin 8.