Progress seen in 1916 commemorations

Posted by Jim on November 22, 2014

A video and website that was used by the Dublin government to launch its
programme for the anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising are set to be
scrapped following a public outcry.

The video including cameos from British Prime Minister David Cameron,
English queen Elizabeth Windsor and internet companies such as Google
and Facebook, but made no mention whatsoever of the signatories of the
Proclamation of the Irish Republic in 1916.

“Embarrassing unhistorical sh*,” was how Diarmaid Ferriter, the UCD
historian and 2016 Government advisor described it.

The website, which featured sections which had been (badly)
machine-translated into Irish, also appeared destined for an electronic
bin. It featured a message informing visitors that it is “temporarily
under-going maintenance and will be back up running as soon as
possible”.

Officials at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht were
ordered by minister Heather Humphreys take the website offline to allow
“experts” to resolve a number of “outstanding issues” with it.

Meanwhile, the 1916 Relatives Association, which is understood to
represent around 850 descendants of the men and women who fought, are
hoping for a turnaround in government policy to end their boycott of the
government’s plans for 2016.

The association’s Belfast-based spokeswoman Una McNulty, whose
grandfather Peadar and great-uncle Michael McNulty were in the Four
Courts garrison, said that despite tensions she remained hopeful the
centenary could still be “worthy of the men and women who died”.

“The government underestimated how important the centenary is to the
people of Ireland. They need to open up the channels of communication
with relatives and with the Irish people all over Ireland. We would like
to work with the government in partnership,” she said.

Ms McNulty said the association was keen to hold meetings on both sides
of the border to listen to people’s ideas, adding: “People care deeply
about this issue and we need to keep knocking on the door until the
government listens to us.”