Remember 1916? Sure, but being Irish means more than Sinn Féin's tribalism or Fianna Fáil's narrow conservatism, argues Pat Rabbitte
One fairly safe prediction for 2006, is that we'll be hearing a lot about 1916. While the main event is likely to be the "who's got the biggest Tricolour" competition between Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin, there will also be considerable space afforded to historical analysis, and the import of the events of 1916 for Irish identity.
Several such analysts are already off their blocks. Writing in this newspaper, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern argued that we must honour our dead of the Somme, just as we honour the insurgents of 1916. Acknowledging the role of men from the 26 Counties in the Great War should, he said, be part of a reassessment of our joint history, North and South. Hence, he argued, "we can no longer have two histories, separate and in conflict. We must acknowledge that the experiences of all the people on this island have shaped our present and, in some way, defined what it is for all of us to be Irish."
The Minister is quite correct to argue for commemoration of the Irishmen who fought and died in the Great War, and to seek greater recognition in the South of what is a hugely important aspect of the history and identity of the people of the North of Ireland.
I also agree that we should, as a country, commemorate the events of 1916 (however inappropriate was the manner in which the Taoiseach made his announcement to the Fianna Fáil Ardfheis). The Rising is a pivotal event in our history, which belongs to all our people, not just extremists.
Laudable though such commemorations may be, however, we must neither overstate, nor misrepresent, their significance for modern Irish identity.
Let me make two points.
Firstly, Dermot Ahern connects both the Easter Rising and the Somme to the rise of nationalism across Europe, and connects the roles of both Connolly and Pearse in the Rising to a concern with the rights of small nations.
This is undoubtedly true, but Connolly's motivations were far wider than simply establishing an independent State. Connolly's rising was a strike, not against Britain, but against British imperialism, and the social conditions it generated in Ireland. As a leading socialist thinker and activist, Connolly's interest in the cause of Ireland was derived from his concern with the cause of labour. Connolly was a great internationalist, and it is quite simply wrong to paint him as some form of romantic nationalist.
That broader radical strand among the participants in the 1916 Rising is one that Fianna Fáil has forgotten, just as it has abandoned its own radical roots. Today's Fianna Fáil members will drape themselves in the flag, but have no interest in the true legacy of Connolly.
Equally, while acknowledging the sacrifices made at the Somme, one also has to question how the world could have brought itself to contemplate such appalling loss of human life, and how the social structures of European society perpetuated the bloody conflict.
Next year, the Labour Party, will seek to redress the balance, at least in the Irish case, through an initiative called the Liberty Project which will focus on the role of the labour movement, of James Connolly, and of the Citizen Army, in the events of 1916.
Secondly, getting the right take on 1916 is important, but so too is putting 1916 into perspective. In the modern, wealthy, cosmopolitan Ireland can we really hang our sense of national identity on events which took place 90 years ago? Surely, there is more to being Irish.
Yes, being Irish is about the sacrifices made during that period of 1916, but it is about so much more. It is about many other values. Openness, tolerance, commitment to human rights, to democracy, to solidarity, to equality and to internationalism: these are also hallmarks of what it means to be Irish.
Being Irish means achieving excellence on the world stage in every endeavour. Being Irish means working with our non-governmental organisations among some of the most deprived peoples of the world.
Being Irish means wearing the blue beret in Liberia, or East Timor, or Kosovo, or on any number of other UN missions where our Defence Forces or Garda serve.
Being Irish means being down and out, or down on your luck, in London, or Birmingham, or Coventry, or any of the other cities where our people went to find work in the 1950s.
Being Irish means being passionate about hurling, the Dubs, Man Utd, Keano, Cork, and almost any other form of sport you care to mention.
Being Irish means believing that there is more than one way to live, love, or pray. Being Irish means living in a country which has changed out of all recognition in two decades, and which is struggling to hang on to the best of what it had, while embracing change.
Being Irish means being a citizen, not just of this country, but of Europe, and of the world.
In short, there is much more to Ireland than Sinn Féin's tribalism or Fianna Fáil's narrow conservatism.
Being Irish is about far more than our history. It is about our lives, in this our country, in these, our times.
Pat Rabbitte is leader of the Labour Party