Madam, - President McAleese has recently connected the patriotic vision and death of the 1916 leaders with those of us who now enjoy the fruits of the Celtic Tiger. This connection is a misrepresentation.
Pearse and his companions understood very well the core value underpinning both citizenship and democracy: that of inclusivity. I imagine they were thinking far more of those excluded from participation in Irish society.
Today, these are represented by 320,000 citizens living in consistent poverty, for whom the fruits of the Celtic Tiger have little relevance. - Yours, etc,
VALERIE BRESNIHAN, Woodbine Road, Booterstown, Co Dublin.
Madam, - Now that we have had so many sanitised versions of the Rising, may I introduce a little realism by quoting James Dillon's memorable response in Dáil Éireann in April 1932 when asked where he was in 1916: "Wherever I was in 1916, I was not murdering my neighbours." - Yours etc.,
T. O' CONNOR, Churchtown, Dublin 14.
A chara, - Because the Government wants the 1916 commemoration to be seen "in a broad and inclusive context", it will not supply Tricolours to primary schools, Minister Mary Coughlan told Tom McEllistrim TD in the Dáil (The Irish Times, March 30th).
The Tricolour is the national flag and also the symbol behind which the 1916 rebels united, fought and died.
How can politicians now claim to represent and respect the ideals of the men and women of Easter Week, and to hold a military parade to honour them, while, at the same time, inhibiting the display of the national colours in Irish schools? - Is mise,
LIAM Ó GÉIBHEANNAIGH, Ath an Ghainimh, Co Átha Cliath.
Madam, - In the interests of historical accuracy, may I make a small correction to the brief account of the events that occurred in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, during Easter Week 1916, as stated in your Supplement on the 1916 Rising?
The Volunteers did not establish "a strong position" on Vinegar Hill, overlooking the town. No Volunteers were based on Vinegar Hill at any time during the Enniscorthy rising. Neither did "the rebels retire to their positions on Vinegar Hill" after the town was retaken by Crown forces.
Further, according to first-hand, personal accounts by some of the Enniscorthy leaders, a report in the Irish Times Handbook of the Rebellion to this effect was "completely fictitious". And far from an RIC sergeant and one constable preventing the rebels from taking over a bank in the town, the insurgents made no effort to take over the barracks or the banks. That was not part of their plans. - Yours, etc,
RICHARD ROCHE, Kincora Avenue, Dublin 3.