TeenTimes: I'm sure many had an experience quite contrary to mine, but the 1916 commemoration parade aroused in me only embarrassment and annoyance. This is no doubt as much to do with me as the parade, but still, it failed in ways which I cannot help but comment on.
The first was a garbled sound-system which made the reading of the Proclamation and whatever else was said at that time utterly incomprehensible. However, I accept that accidents do happen, but even when the system was fixed you had to strain your ears to catch just a few words.
Despite large numbers and Larkin's exhortations, the crowd was dead.
Some might say that they were relaxed, reserved, respectable or sedate, but I say that they were dead. Their sporadic clapping was so restrained that it was a mere patter, and the recital of the national anthem was more cringe-worthy than any episode of The Office.
It wasn't even a mumble, and the feeble voices trembled and collapsed in the air before any national pride could stir in my blood. Still, the crowd was its most feverish after this and a few of the more boisterous fellows even managed to shout.
The planes, I admit, were an impressive surprise, and the music was nice. But then they had helicopters, and then more planes, and then the same ones over again. And, though I full-heartedly agree with the appreciation of our peace-keeping troops and I strongly believe in respectful remembrance of past revolutionaries (hence my presence at the parade), I think that this show did justice to neither.
There was no real sense of meaning behind it.
Much of it was a display of fire-power: something that we have little of, that we don't really need, and that few care about. On the up side, as it went on people began to leave and you could get a better view of this embarrassing, but well-intentioned, show.
The crowd, I think, wanted to be swept up into some jingoistic fervour, to feel angry at the past and indulge in a bit of healthy hatred for the English. But when they didn't get it, they felt lost. I, I must stress, am included in the crowd.
I'm one of those people who believe that Irish should be a compulsory subject, while at the same time I dread the class and shirk on my homework.
I love reading our defeat-after-defeat history and fomenting a nice bit of anger in myself for all the wrongs that we've endured. I want the North back.
But I didn't even bother to try to sing the anthem, and if I had I would have failed, as I don't know the words, except for the last line which is hopelessly emblazoned in my brain as "Aw rawn na veen".
In fact, as you may realise, being part of the crowd was the most miserable part of the whole day.
Dermot O'Sullivan (16) is a pupil of Coláiste Éanna CBS in Ballyroan, Co Dublin
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