The leaders of the 1916 Rising were people of immense passion and selflessness who acted according to their conscience, the Catholic Bishop of Meath, Dr Michael Smith, said yesterday at the annual 1916 commemoration Mass at Arbour Hill in Dublin.
The bishop was addressing a congregation that included political leaders and the families of the executed leaders. The ceremony was attended by President Mary McAleese, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, former taoisigh Liam Cosgrave and Garret FitzGerald, Opposition politicians and judges as well as relatives of those who died.
Also present was the only surviving child of an executed 1916 leader, 92-year-old, Fr Joseph Mallin, the son of Comdt Michael Mallin.
Bishop Smith said the executed 1916 leaders were sustained by their deep faith in God.
"Their faith gave them that immense courage and dignity with which they faced death. In that courage and dignity they gave substance to the cause they espoused. The courage and dignity with which they faced death had a profound effect on the national psyche, changing it utterly.
"Those who gave their lives in 1916 believed they acted in accordance with the demands their informed conscience placed upon them. They did not see the first World War as their battle or indeed as a war in which Ireland should become involved."
Bishop Smith said the conscience of the many Irish people who fought and died in that war had to be respected but it was harder to respect the conscience of those who encouraged them to become involved in that appalling adventure or of those who sent millions to pointless death.
"Those who led the rebellion in 1916 believed in conscience that their planned action was the only way to evoke a hearing. Subsequent developments confirm the validity of this view.
"But I believe there was another dimension to their motivation that must be respected. They were part of the reawakening of the memory of the Irish nation, following a long, dark and clouded period.
"The founding of the Gaelic League and the GAA had brought back some of that memory."
Bishop Smith said many people then and now disagreed with the actions of those who took part in the Rising, but their enterprise did awaken the identity of a people.
