A chara, – I wish to respond to Mark Hilliard's article on the exclusion of the families of ordinary combatants in the 1916 centenary celebrations ("1916 families fear exclusion from centenary commemorations", Home News, May 6th). A similar issue was raised in your letters page by Kieran Forde (January 23rd), when he highlighted his and his family's exclusion from the commemoration of the centenary of the founding of the Volunteers, of which his father was a member. This exclusion would give weight to the contention that the 1916 commemorations will also remain "the preserve of VIPs dignitaries, and the relatives of the executed leaders". I am the respective granddaughter and grandniece of Peadar and Michael McNulty (A Coy 1st Battalion Dublin Brigade), who fought in the North King St/Church St area in 1916. Both have a living child. I believe if the 1916 commemorations are to have a real and lasting impact on the ordinary people of Ireland they must be given ownership of the celebrations at all levels. The symbolic damage of excluding the relatives of the ordinary combatants from the celebrations should not be underestimated. Given that just under 2,500 1916 medals were given out, a least one representative from each family should easily be accommodated at the official commemorations.
Hilliard’s article highlighted the frustrations of Dave Kilmartin and Gerry Carroll in their attempts to engage the present government in this issue. Rather than wait passively for permission from a disinterested and unmotivated State body, shouldn’t we, the relatives of the ordinary combatants, come together and form our own committee? Surely we are more likely to get our voices heard if we can lobby as an organised grouping to make sure our dead relatives are remembered and represented at all 1916 commemorations. I for one would sign up for this and am open to being contacted by any of the above mentioned relatives who wish to do likewise. – Is mise,
UNA Mac NULTY,
Salisbury Avenue,
Belfast.