An annual summer school, periodic television and radio programmes, and books by what Arthur Griffith rather disparagingly called "an inky tribe in every generation" ensure that Charles Stewart Parnell, who died 110 years ago next Saturday, is not forgotten among the Irish people. Indeed, it could be said that he mesmerised the generations that came after him.
"One of the strangest, most baffling personalities that ever trod the world's stage," Winston Churchill said of him, 50 years after his death. A proud man, overcome by inferiors, is the picture of Parnell we glean from the poetry of W.B. Yeats. On the other hand, "a maverick, inhaling the fumes of his own myth", was the opinion of Conor Cruise O'Brien.
Romantic aspects
The appeal of romance is at least part of the reason why there is still so much interest in Parnell. His love for Katherine O'Shea, his death at the young age of 45, his tragic passing when he was on the point of achieving independence for his country and becoming its virtual ruler ("the uncrowned king") - these are the romantic aspects of his story.
What is his place in Irish nationalism? Patrick Pearse had some difficulty with this question in his pamphlet Ghosts. Tone, Davis, Lalor and Mitchel were the heroes, according to Pearse, and perhaps Parnell. He was not too sure about the place of "the Chief", but he believed that Parnell had wanted complete separation between Ireland and Britain. P.S. ╙ hEigeartaigh (A History of Ireland under the Union) thought likewise: Parnell was a separatist who spoke in conservative terms.
But F.S.L. Lyons and Cruise O'Brien completely disagreed. They saw him as an out-and-out parliamentarian who fully accepted a political link between these islands. His speeches during the last dramatic months of his life were an aberration, according to Lyons and O'Brien.
So, where is the truth, if it is possible to discover it? Parnell had an unhappy youth and did poorly in university before he was expelled. He was satisfied for a while with the country squire's life and it was by accident more than anything that he entered politics in 1875. He was a weak, nervous speaker at first and it is no exaggeration to say that his progression from this inauspicious start to become the leader of the Irish at home and abroad was one of the greatest political achievements in Irish history.
He had spent a lot of his life in England - at school and university - and had much experience of English people. Neither Westminster nor imperial splendour impressed him and he had little respect for Irish people who were trying to win English favour. "The only way an Englishman will respect you is if you stand up to him," he said. He always believed that Ireland and England were equal and this was the theme of his maiden speech in parliament.
It wasn't long before he perceived that he could advance himself at Westminster. He joined the other Irish MPs who were practising obstructionism and greatly enjoyed disrupting ordinary English business. The consequent anger of English MPs didn't bother him in the least. Before long his aim was to make himself national leader.
Land question
He shared the Fenians' hatred of English rule in Ireland and wanted to harness their energy. However, they were but a minority. It was the land question that gave him the chance to become known to the wider public general and to garner broad support and he grasped the opportunity with alacrity. Before long he was getting support from almost every group in the country.
But what was his own outlook on the land issue? His ancestors had been good landlords and, although he believed the land should be given back to the tenants, he hoped there would still be a strong smattering of landlords to guide them. His part in the land struggle led to his being elected leader of the Irish MPs in Westminster but self-government for Ireland was more important for him and he abandoned the land issue when he believed it of no further use.
New phenomenon
The political party he established, with its branches around the country, its party pledge and central fund to pay elected members, was a new phenomenon in the politics of these islands. The Irish Party at Westminster, with its loyal and diligent members, amazed and impressed Gladstone. Parnell's greatest achievement was persuading a great British party and leader that Ireland should have self-government.
It was extraordinary how he managed to live a double life for 10 years: national leader and secret lover. The latter destroyed the former in the end. He came to believe he was more important than the cause and when the party and people turned against him, he lost direction. To his way of thinking, he had made them and they should remain dutiful to him.
In the final analysis, he was an extraordinary man and his fall was tragic. He wanted friendship with Britain but on an equal footing. And, like Griffith and Collins after him, he knew there was nothing final in this life.
"No man has the right to set a boundary to the onward march of a nation..." These words, from a January 1885 speech, appear on his monument in upper O'Connell Street, which was unveiled 90 years ago on this date.