Sir, I read John Waters's column on Padraig Pearse, and I would just like to express my agreement with what he said about Pearse being an Irish hero. ,I would like to go even further, and say that all of the signatories to the Proclamation, all the commandants and indeed all those who took part in the Rising were heroes. While Pearse was the romantic eloquence of the Rising, the others, Connolly, Clarke etc., and all the soldiers, provided the tactics, strategy, planning and manpower to bring it all about.
Many countries have had similar types of military revolutions as Ireland did in 1916 and subsequent years, and recognise the importance of what their own rising did for them, and feel no shame in celebrating their day of independence. I think it's time we did the same in recognising that the leaders of the Rising were certainly not terrorists, but freedom fighters in the best sense with the highest ideals and morals. Any study of the actual minute to minute events of the Rising in Dublin will bear that out.
The very first thing that the first Dail did was to adopt the Proclamation of the Republic of Ireland. You could say then that, technically, April 24th, 1916 was our first day of independence, with Padraig Pearse at the head of the first (if provisional) government. Why not, then, adopt April 24th as our independence day, a day when all Irishmen and women can celebrate our freedom and sovereignty as a nation among other nations. Yours, etc., Watson Avenue,
Killiney, Co Dublin.