Seminar on “A Decade Of Centenary Commemorations”

Gerry Mc Monagle Outreach Worker with Abhaile Aris welcomed everyone to the seminar “A Decade Of Centenary Commemorations” Beginning the Conversation.

In setting the context of today’s discussions he addressed the gathering and said

Those who have an interest in Irish history will be well aware that we will soon enter a decade which marks the centenary of a number of defining events in the development of our nation. The Great Lockout of 1913, The Easter Rising, The Battle of the Somme, The Ulster Covenant, The Partition of Ireland and foundation of the UVF, to name a few.

Of course these events will be marked and commemorated in many different ways by groups from differing community backgrounds.

Today’s seminar is intended to open the debate on how a common ground can be reached in which we can recognise these historic events in a way which is both befitting of the significance of the event and also welcoming to both traditions on this island.

It is our belief that no one should be afraid of commemorating or debating these landmarks in our history. It is right to recognise and commemorate these events and to recognise their significance in developing the politics of this island in the decades that followed.

While we must remember these events we also must critically engage with our past. The last one hundred years, while a fraction of the life of the nation, was taken up by partition, divergence, exclusion and conflict. These failures must be consigned to the past. As community leaders we must promote reconciliation for all our people in all their diversity. In this way we will build a nation which our children can be proud of.

Our speakers today will no doubt help us in these discussions and they are; Journalist, Paul McFadden, Rev Earl Storey from the Church of Ireland and Sinn Féin Mayor of Donegal Cllr Cora Harvey who will give their opinions on how they see how we can mark these events together.

Gerry called on the first speaker of the day
Rev Earl Storey C.O.I Minister who now runs his own business and who was rector in Dublin for 10yrs also served in Derry and Raphoe. When he was a young Curate in Derry he attended many homes and funerals of members of the security forces who had been killed by republicans and seen at first hand the devastation that their deaths had brought on close family members and friends. Earl was the first speaker of the seminar and outlined his thoughts on Commemorations/Remembering and the reasons they are used by different groups, cultures, communities etc.

Commemorations he said can be used in many different ways especially by those in power or those seeking power. They can be used to tell a story in a particular way. Who we are, what they done to us, they can keep people distracted so as they don’t ask “What happen there”

He told about his time in Rwanda where he witnessed wholesale genocide and slaughter of one community by another. He described how today both those communities have come together to ensure that violence is a thing of the past and how they work together to commemorate/remember their dreadful past. This he attributed to the sheer poverty of the area and the realisation that no-one is free from this poverty. There was he said a realisation that the only way out of conflict and poverty was for each side to come together and work together to escape the cycle of violence and poverty their country had experienced in the past.

Our next speaker Paul Mc Fadden, Journalist, asked the question whether commemorations were a good thing or a bad thing. They nearly always compelled us to look back he said. Commemorations can be divisive, selective and that they nearly always run the risk of perpetuating or prolonging division. We nearly become imprisoned by our past. Paul asked the question how much of our history do we really know or understand? In many ways our history was told by the victor and then retold by the vanquished. All of which can lead people to look at times in our history through green, white and orange or red, white and blue spectacles.

But Paul said “responsible commemorations” which are inclusive and not triumphalist can lead to challenging perceptive. We need to look at our History as” One History with many verses” We must learn to understand the “other sides” story and our own side “Warts and All” We must not or need to wound someone so that we can commemorate or remember something or someone. We should take a step back and reflect and not allow commemorations to prepare people for future battles “War is great and Glorious” attitude must change. Paul shared with the participants the fact that his Great Uncle had fought and died in the First World War and how it was only recently that he found that out. His name he said was carved on the cenotaph in the Diamiond. That was something that he was coming to terms with personally and he was now after all these years beginning to think about how he could deal with this knowledge of his great uncle dieing in Flanders for King and Country. We must discover better ways of commemorating our history he said.

The last speaker of the day was Mayor of Donegal Cllr Cora Harvey. Below is some excerpts from her speech.
Thank you for inviting me here today as we begin the conversation “on a decade of centenary commemorations.
I believe that this conversation is already taken place over the island and political institutions North and South have publicly set the tone, or maybe they are letting out feelers as to how the others will respond

Taoiseach Brian Cowen on the 20th of May speaking at the Institute for British Irish Studies in UCD has stated that the events of the decade between 1912 and 1922 were momentous and defining ones for all of the people of this island, and indeed for all these islands, he announced that in 2016 the centenary of the Somme will be commemorated in Dublin, as in Belfast, to honour the heroism of those who fought and died there, protestant and catholic side by side.

Mr Cowen also submitted a respectful challenge to the leaders of Unionism by releasing the expectation that the events of Easter 1916 to be commemorated with respect and dignity in every part of this island.
Exactly a month later Nelson Mc Causland MLA, Minister for Culture, Arts, and Leisure on the 20th of June stated that Northern Ireland will enter a decade of 100th Anniversaries from the Ulster Covenant in 1912 through to the formation of Northern Ireland and the Free State in 1921, he also acknowledged that other events in that period include the start of the first world war, the battle of the Somme and the 1916 rising.

Mr Mc Causland agreed that these were all important dates and important anniversaries and ignoring them is not an option, but queried how we approach them.
And more recently Martin Mc Guinness whilst speaking at the Mc Gill Summer School in Glenties stressed that nobody should be afraid of commemorating or debating these landmarks in our history, Mr Mc Guinness also set a challenge; he challenges us to become persuaders and to reach out the hand of friendship to all who share this island with us...

So a chairde, the conversation is well underway.
Commemorations certainly can help or hinder a shared future, therefore we must take the opportunity to reflect on, and better understand our shared identities, and we must be respectful and understanding of the past which after all created the Ireland that we share today. As we prepare for a decade of centenary commemorations we must ensure that commemorations are not used as a path for the minority to re awaken the violent struggle. We must ensure that as we remember our dead we do not bring suffering to the living.

The events of the decade between 1912 and 1922 were momentous and defining ones for all the people of Ireland. And will beyond doubt gather the hearts of the nation, each event is a defining moment in time in our past, but we must remember that each event means different things to different people. That is diversity, not division, that is fact and that my friends were the challenge lays.
Each section of our society needs to be given the platform and the freedom to celebrate the events that has transformed Ireland to the Country that we live in today. Some may not want to remember Easter 1916, others will with remarkable spirit and pride. Others may want to ignore the singing of the Covenant, and many will remember it with triumph and glee. Others may silently acknowledge the Battle of the Somme, the war of independence the Government of Ireland act and the Treaty while their neighbours commemorate with dignity and passion.

After the speakers we broke into three different workshops, where we discussed what they had to say and offered our own thoughts on the up and coming “Decade of Centenary Commemorations”

The feedback from the workshops was very encouraging and all the workshops felt that there was a potential through dialogue like todays to begin to build a shared future. It was said that knowledge information and education are central to achieving this and that todays discussions was a step in that direction.

Some of those present felt the context of some of these events were class connected and suggested that we had been abused and divide by the ruling classes. In 1913 during the “Dublin Lock Out” The British working class helped the Irish workers this was another example that there is more to unite us than divide us. Celebrating Diversity should become more than an aspiration. We must build on our diversity, use today to move forward and gather momentum. We all should take confidence in the mix of people from different backgrounds here today. We must take these discussions today out to the wider community especially to young people. We must get them to look differently at how we deal with and remember our past. To look to a future that is both peaceful and inclusive where everyone rights are protected and were diversity is celebrated together.