THOSE WHO gave their lives in the 1916 Rising were not just seeking separation from Britain, they also had a vision of Irish independence based on values.
This was the message delivered by Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin at the annual 1916 commemoration Mass in the Church of the Sacred Heart, Arbour Hill, Dublin, yesterday.
The Mass was attended by relatives of the 1916 participants, President Mary McAleese, Dr Martin McAleese, Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore and other senior politicians.
“We celebrate and remember those who gave their lives in 1916 for a better Ireland . . . independence for a purpose, independence based on values,” Archbishop Martin said in his homily.
He recalled how his uncle, Martin Mullen, and aunt, Mary Mullen, had participated in the Rising. “As a child I was always fascinated when I heard my mother speak about Easter week 1916. She recalled the excitement in her house in inner-city Dublin over that Easter weekend . . . how she watched her own mother as she prepared the bandolier for her eldest son as he set out to take up arms in Jacobs’ factory and how she embraced her eldest daughter as she set out to go to Liberty Hall.”
The archbishop said that a republic is not indifferent to the faith of its citizens, but recognises the role of believers in contributing to the common good. A real republic was one in which people care, where basic needs are “the concern of all”.
The archbishop said the economic situation and the dramatic social costs that this will entail should forewarn against any haughtiness about who we are and where we stand.
The economic climate at the time of the Rising was disastrous and there was much poverty and deprivation, but Dr Martin said that those who fought and died in 1916 realised that with “courage and vision things could change”.
The archbishop offered prayers for a renewed sense of national purpose, pride and willingness to commit to realising a vision “in which all care, in which all participate and to which all contribute”.
