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The 90th anniversary Easter Rising military parade through Dublin, which attracted over 100,000 spectators, has been hailed as a success by political leaders, writes Stephen Collins, Political Correspondent
The march was described by the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, as "a spectacular success", while the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Éamon Ó CuÃv, said it was "a great day for which the public came out in huge numbers."
Some 2,500 members of the Defence Forces, and veterans of peacekeeping missions, marched through Dublin. Gardaà put the crowd that watched them at 100,000, while the Minister for Defence, Willie O'Dea, said some 120,000 spectators lined the route.
The Taoiseach started the day of commemoration at a wreath-laying ceremony in the stone-breakers' yard in Kilmainham Gaol where some of the Rising's leaders were executed. He said the 90th anniversary commemorations were "about discharging one generation's debt of honour to another".
The Fine Gael leader, Enda Kenny, said the parade "was a great showcase for the Irish Army, for the services at home and abroad, and great to see them all". He said it could be considered a long dress rehearsal for centenary commemorations in 2016.
Also referring to the centenary commemorations, the Taoiseach later told RTÉ: "I have no difficulty with how it should evolve. I think there have been some good suggestions that perhaps it should turn into a commemoration of what would then be 100 years since the foundation of the State."
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte agreed that the parade "was well-organised and provided an opportunity for the defence forces to put their capabilities on display". Green Party leader Trevor Sargent said the parade was a symbol of a modern Ireland.
Mr McDowell said the "open, inclusive" debate that had taken place recently had brought a new generation of young people into contact with 1916. While there would be discussions on when to hold the next commemoration, "today's events will encourage the Irish State to be confident about celebrating 1916", he said.
The leaders of all the political parties in the Republic, with the exception of Sinn Féin, joined the President and the Taoiseach on the reviewing stand outside the GPO in O'Connell Street. A range of other politicians and dignitaries, including the British ambassador, Stewart Eldon, and the SDLP leader, Mark Durkan, also attended.
However, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams stayed away, as did the party leader in the Dáil, CaoimhghÃn Ó Caoláin. Sinn Féin was represented by its Louth TD, Arthur Morgan.
The ceremonies at the GPO got under way when at noon the Tricolour was lowered to half mast to the accompaniment of a piper's lament. Capt Tom Ryan, of the sixth Infantry Battalion, read the Proclamation. President McAleese then laid a wreath on behalf of the Irish people and there was a minute's silence for all of those killed during Easter week 1916.
The parade began in Dame Street and was joined by Army bands when it reached O'Connell Street. Army and Navy personnel paraded with their latest equipment and vehicles while Air Corps and Garda air support units flew overhead. The Army equitation school, Defence Forces medical corps, An Garda SÃochána, UN veterans and ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen also marched. Mr O'Dea said he saluted "an outstanding military display... A display that I am sure has made the people of this country immensely proud."
The parade was also warmly received by descendants of those who fought in the Rising. Fr Joe Mallin, son of Comdt Michael Mallin, who was executed for his role in the Rising, said it was clear a lot of preparatory work had gone into the ceremony. Brothers Austin and Rossa Ó Briain, grandsons of Cathal Brugha, said they were "very proud" of how the anniversary had been marked.
The march was described by the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, as "a spectacular success", while the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Éamon Ó CuÃv, said it was "a great day for which the public came out in huge numbers."
Some 2,500 members of the Defence Forces, and veterans of peacekeeping missions, marched through Dublin. Gardaà put the crowd that watched them at 100,000, while the Minister for Defence, Willie O'Dea, said some 120,000 spectators lined the route.
The Taoiseach started the day of commemoration at a wreath-laying ceremony in the stone-breakers' yard in Kilmainham Gaol where some of the Rising's leaders were executed. He said the 90th anniversary commemorations were "about discharging one generation's debt of honour to another".
The Fine Gael leader, Enda Kenny, said the parade "was a great showcase for the Irish Army, for the services at home and abroad, and great to see them all". He said it could be considered a long dress rehearsal for centenary commemorations in 2016.
Also referring to the centenary commemorations, the Taoiseach later told RTÉ: "I have no difficulty with how it should evolve. I think there have been some good suggestions that perhaps it should turn into a commemoration of what would then be 100 years since the foundation of the State."
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte agreed that the parade "was well-organised and provided an opportunity for the defence forces to put their capabilities on display". Green Party leader Trevor Sargent said the parade was a symbol of a modern Ireland.
Mr McDowell said the "open, inclusive" debate that had taken place recently had brought a new generation of young people into contact with 1916. While there would be discussions on when to hold the next commemoration, "today's events will encourage the Irish State to be confident about celebrating 1916", he said.
The leaders of all the political parties in the Republic, with the exception of Sinn Féin, joined the President and the Taoiseach on the reviewing stand outside the GPO in O'Connell Street. A range of other politicians and dignitaries, including the British ambassador, Stewart Eldon, and the SDLP leader, Mark Durkan, also attended.
However, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams stayed away, as did the party leader in the Dáil, CaoimhghÃn Ó Caoláin. Sinn Féin was represented by its Louth TD, Arthur Morgan.
The ceremonies at the GPO got under way when at noon the Tricolour was lowered to half mast to the accompaniment of a piper's lament. Capt Tom Ryan, of the sixth Infantry Battalion, read the Proclamation. President McAleese then laid a wreath on behalf of the Irish people and there was a minute's silence for all of those killed during Easter week 1916.
The parade began in Dame Street and was joined by Army bands when it reached O'Connell Street. Army and Navy personnel paraded with their latest equipment and vehicles while Air Corps and Garda air support units flew overhead. The Army equitation school, Defence Forces medical corps, An Garda SÃochána, UN veterans and ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen also marched. Mr O'Dea said he saluted "an outstanding military display... A display that I am sure has made the people of this country immensely proud."
The parade was also warmly received by descendants of those who fought in the Rising. Fr Joe Mallin, son of Comdt Michael Mallin, who was executed for his role in the Rising, said it was clear a lot of preparatory work had gone into the ceremony. Brothers Austin and Rossa Ó Briain, grandsons of Cathal Brugha, said they were "very proud" of how the anniversary had been marked.
For those who believe that those who do not learn from history's mistakes are doomed to repeat them it remains a classic example of how an imperialist power isolated themselves from the local population. The people of Ireland went from throwing stones and jeering at the leaders of the Rising to fighting a geurilla war against British forces in under 3 years. PH Pearse's mystical notions of the blood sacrifice had proved to be correct.
It's hard to know if the Rising ever had any hope of success, even if German weapons had manage to reach the Irish Volunteers and they had not been ordered to stand down on Easter Sunday by MacNeill's countermanding order, effectively cutting the numbers that fought in Dublin down to some 2,000 men (including some 200 of the Irish Citizen's Army).
It's been analysed time and time again with as many opinions as facts. It's been called the first Socialist revolution in Europe (interestingly, when the Irish Republic was declared in 1919 only one country in the world recognized it - the Russian SSR), a folly, a disregard for democracy, and the first blow for independence.
I could write a lot more (and I might do so if I get time), but I'd encourage you to check out these sites if you're interested in finding out more:
I'll leave you with the poetry of WB Yeats, who wrote the poem 'September 1913' a few months before the Rising decrying the cynicism of the current generation:
Yet could we turn the years again,
And call those exiles as they were
In all their loneliness and pain,
You'd cry `Some woman's yellow hair
Has maddened every mother's son':
They weighed so lightly what they gave.
But let them be, they're dead and gone,
They're with O'Leary in the grave.
And call those exiles as they were
In all their loneliness and pain,
You'd cry `Some woman's yellow hair
Has maddened every mother's son':
They weighed so lightly what they gave.
But let them be, they're dead and gone,
They're with O'Leary in the grave.
We know their dream; enough
To know they dreamed and are dead;
And what if excess of love
Bewildered them till they died?
I write it out in a verse -
MacDonagh and MacBride
And Connolly and pearse
Now and in time to be,
Wherever green is worn,
Are changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.
To know they dreamed and are dead;
And what if excess of love
Bewildered them till they died?
I write it out in a verse -
MacDonagh and MacBride
And Connolly and pearse
Now and in time to be,
Wherever green is worn,
Are changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.
I can't believe you wrote that.
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