Sir, – I agree with Maire White (Letters, June 11th) that the events of June 16th, 1922 should be commemorated and not ignored this week. As she says, the electorate effectively endorsed by a margin of three to one the Treaty with Britain, signed some six months earlier. Nationalist Ireland abandoned the Republic, in the words of one historian, but there are other reasons to remember that day.
On the morning of the election, the draft Constitution of the Irish Free State was first published which would establish a parliamentary democracy. Many of its provisions continue in our 1937 Constitution today.
The election was also the first time we used PR in multi-seat constituencies to elect our TDs which we still do. The fact that we had a contested election which gave legitimacy to the new government and Oireachtas was due to the decision of the Labour Party to reject the diktat from Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera that only the sitting pro and anti Treaty Sinn Féin TDs should stand for election on a common platform.
Labour’s decision was probably the most momentous in its history as it created a choice for the electorate and allowed public opinion to be reflected in the results. The “stitch up” planned by the two Sinn Féin factions was avoided. Labour was strongly rewarded gaining 17 seats for its 18 candidates, some with two quotas and no running mates.
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It is somewhat curious that neither Fine Gael nor the Labour Party appear to be interested in celebrating the achievements of their antecedents.
The Decade of Centenaries should not be just about military history but should also make us aware of the democratic and peaceful achievements of that era, a legacy we should not take for granted.
– Yours, etc,
CIARAN O’MARA,
Booterstown,
Co Dublin.