Looking Back
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Robert Ballagh - Looking Back
Without doubt 2016 has been a great year for looking back in Ireland. Indeed few people could avoid the profusion of commemorations marking the centenary of the Easter Rising. Unquestionably, in most cases, individual approaches to commemoration tell us more about prevailing attitudes today than about historical conditions in Ireland one hundred years ago. Nevertheless the bravery and sacrifice of a heroic generation should be commemorated; however it would be a disservice to their memory if the true motivation behind their actions remains unacknowledged. After all, these people were not merely rebels \\u2013 they were visionaries. What they desired was not simply a green flag over Dublin Castle or a harp on the coinage. They were calling for a complete transformation of Irish society. The blueprint for that transformation was set out in the Proclamation of the Irish Republic and that remarkable document remains the yardstick by which we can and should measure the current state of the nation.
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