Upcoming commemorations of the 1916 Easter Rising and the Battle of the Somme are opportunities to “reflect on” and “better understand our shared identities”, Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said.
In an address to the annual conference of the Institute of British Irish Studies at UCD today, Mr Cowen said the Government wants to see “full acknowledgement of the totality of the island’s history”
He said the “legitimacy” of all the traditions on the island that draw their identity and collective memory from a shared history “should be acknowledged” in the upcoming commemorations.
“We want the process of commemoration to recognise the totality of the history of the period, and all of the diversity that this encompasses”, he said.
The Taoiseach said “mutual respect” should be central to all commemorative events “and that historical accuracy should be paramount”.
The centenary of the Somme will be commemorated in Dublin to “honour the heroism of those who fought and died there, Protestant and Catholic, side by side”, Mr Cowen said.
He added that he expects that the events of Easter 1916 will be commemorated “with respect and dignity in every part of this island” something he said “is a challenge that must be considered by the leaders of unionism”.
Referring to the nationalists in Northern Ireland he said “They treasure our country’s history, but for them the outcomes of the decade 1912-1922 were different.”
“Many in the North legitimately view the period between 1912 and 1922 from a quite different angle to the direct successors of those who came to power in Dublin or in Belfast at that time”.
This, he said “should give us all pause for measured reflection”.
Warning against the potential for factions to “hijack history, to fight again the old battles, to re-establish hostilities and to perpetuate division”, Mr Cowen said
“Some will look to use the memory of the dead to bring suffering to the living.”
“To them I say: Count me out”, he said.
The Taoiseach said a united Ireland “can only be done through persuasion and agreement” and could “only be done” on the basis of consent “freely given and expressed”.