Comóradh Issue 3 A p r i l 2015 A Newsletter for the Irish Abroad in the Decade of Centenaries

“ will commemorate the centenary of the Easter Rising of 1916 – a seminal event in Ireland’s path to independence and the centrepiece of the Irish Decade of Centenaries.”

We are now in the fourth year of In this issue... A Chara (Dear Friend), the Decade of Centenaries, and a number of events are planned for the The Decade of Centenaries marks coming months, including centenary the 100 year anniversaries of events commemorations to mark the beginning that occurred between 1912 and of the Gallipoli Campaign of the First 1922. It provides us with important World War in April; the sinking of the opportunities to reflect on momentous Lusitania in May; and Pádraig Pearse’s historical events that significantly graveside oration at the funeral of shaped Irish life then and since. Since Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa in August. my appointment as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in July 2014, I have Next year, very significantly, Ireland will been struck by how our past continues commemorate the centenary of the to inform our identities as individuals Easter Rising of 1916 – a seminal event and communities on this island and as in Ireland’s path to independence and a diaspora abroad. While history can be the centrepiece of the Irish Decade a divisive subject, commemorations can of Centenaries. Ireland 2016, the First World War Commemorations present us with occasions to remember Government’s national programme of together and to encourage and value commemorative events, will include Introduction by Minister Flanagan 1 alternative and plural narratives. a Global and Diaspora Programme Launch of Ireland 2016 2 to commemorate Easter 1916 and In 2014, a range of commemorations to present Ireland, and the last one Professor McAleese’s Christmas took place to mark the centenary of hundred years of our history and culture, Truce Lecture, Iveagh House 2 the beginning of the First World War. to the world. My Department through In October, along with the Australian Commemorating the funeral its network of Embassies and Consulates, Ambassador to Ireland, Dr. Ruth Adler, of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa 2 is already engaged in planning events I launched the Irish Anzacs Database in to that end with organisations, local Free Website Resources – TCD University College , which aims communities and individuals around History Course and Century Ireland 3 to identify all of the estimated 6,000 the globe. Ireland 2016 will give people Irish-born enlistments in the Australian 2014 Services 3 at home and abroad the opportunity Imperial Force during the First World to explore and reflect on our past, as President Higgins attends War. In November, I attended a well as to celebrate Ireland and our ceremonies marking the beginning Remembrance Sunday service at diaspora today. of the First World War in Belgium 3 in , where we remembered the thousands of men I hope that all of you around the world Minister Flanagan launches the and women who travelled from all parts will join with us in commemorating the Irish Anzacs Database in UCD 4 of the island of Ireland to take part in significant events of 1916. Minister Deenihan launches the war – in particular, the thousands Beir bua agus beannacht (Best wishes) Ireland’s new Diaspora Policy 4 who tragically did not return. The laid a wreath in Enniskillen while Ireland’s Ambassador in London, Dan Mulhall, laid a wreath at the official TD ceremony there (see page 3). Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade poem ‘In Memoriam Francis Ledwidge’ – a tribute to the eponymous Irish nationalist and British soldier who perished in the trenches during the First World War. In the poem, Heaney explores Ledwidge’s complex identity, and the competing experiences which shaped it, in an attempt to understand not just Ledwidge, but himself. Like Heaney, Ledwidge was a ‘literary, sweet-talking, countrified’ young man. From L-R: Minister Humphreys, the Tánaiste, Minister of State Aodhán Ó Riordáin TD Heaney suggests that Ledwidge’s and the Taoiseach. loyalty to the Irish nation, notwithstanding what some might see as his contradictory decision to Launch of Ireland 2016 Iveagh House Lecture: volunteer in the , render him something of a ‘dead enigma’. On 31 March 2015, at the National Christmas Truce of 1914 Heaney wrote: Museum of Ireland in Collins Barracks in “At Christmas time on the Western Front Dublin, the Government launched the just over a hundred years ago, soldiers I think of you in your Tommy’s uniform, Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme from all sides put their fears and enmity A haunted Catholic face, pallid and brave, – a national initiative to mark the to one side and held out the hand of Ghosting the trenches with a bloom of hawthorn centenary of the Easter Rising of 1916. friendship to each other. We today Or silence cored from a Boyne passage-grave. Ireland 2016 also features a Global can draw hope and a valuable lesson and Diaspora Programme, which from those events: we too must leave The lecture was followed by a panel will be delivered through Ireland’s our trenches and have the courage discussion, moderated by Dr John extensive network of Embassies and to meet each other half-way. And we Bowman, with Professor John Horne of Consulates. The Programme invites must be willing to keep doing it.” — and Mr Don the global Irish family and friends of Professor Mary McAleese Mullan, founder of the Christmas Truce Ireland to participate in a range of and Flanders Peace Field Project. commemorative and cultural events The former , taking place around the world that will Professor Mary McAleese, addressed provide the opportunity to remember an audience in Iveagh House on the Commemorating the that pivotal period in our history; reflect subject of the Christmas Truce of 1914. on the past 100 years; and re-imagine Professor McAleese was welcomed funeral of Jeremiah our future. by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and O’Donovan Rossa Trade Charles Flanagan TD. Guests A number of formal state events will included the British Secretary of State June 2015 marks the centenary of be held over Easter weekend 2016, for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the death of the prominent Fenian, including a military ceremony in Dublin the Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP, who Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa. During the on Easter Sunday, 27 March. Other was in Dublin on an official visit, and funeral, which took place on 1 August key events will include a special State addressed guests. 1915 in Glasnevin Cemetery, Pádraig Reception for relatives on 26 March, Pearse gave the funeral oration, which and a commemoration at Arbour Hill contained the famous lines: on Sunday 24 April to mark the date on which the Rising actually began. The Fools, the Fools, the Fools! – they have left us our Fenian dead – And Speaking at the launch, while Ireland holds these graves, Ireland Taoiseach , said: unfree shall never be at peace. There is no doubt that the narrative of Untill October 2015, members of the 1916 is an intrinsic part of our DNA as a public can see Pearse’s oration at the State. It is our inheritance. It is our story. grave of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa re- And it is a story that deserves to be told enacted daily by an actor dressed in full unambiguously and with pride. From L-R: Rt Hon Philip Hammond, Minister Irish Volunteer uniform. In her speech, Minister Humphreys Charles Flanagan TD; Prof Mary McAleese As part of its Decade of Centenaries made special reference to the diaspora. and her huband Dr Martin McAleese. commemorations, Glasnevin Cemetary is She said: putting together an exhibition dedicated Ireland is not just an island of over 6 Professor McAleese’s address, the to O’Donovan Rossa and the influence million people – it is a global tribe of 70 fifth in a series of commemorative his funeral had on Ireland a year later in million people and, through Ireland 2016, lectures at the headquarters of the 1916. Glasnevin Cemetary has issued a we will connect with our global Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and call for help from the public to identify family through our embassy network. Trade, reflected on the centenary of the members of the funeral cortege present Christmas Truce, when troops along on the day of the funeral (seen in the Information on the Government’s the Western Front – including soldiers photograph on next page). There has Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme, from Ireland – laid down their arms in a been an enormous response from the including the Global and Diaspora temporary ceasefire. public to date but if you have any further Programme, can be found at information please contact the Glasnevin www.ireland.ie, www.dfa.ie or your In her address, Professor McAleese Trust or visit its website here: www. local Embassy / Consulate website. recalled the late Séamus Heaney’s glasnevintrust.ie. poem ‘In Memoriam Francis Ledwidge’ – a tribute to the eponymous Irish nationalist and British soldier who perished in the trenches during the First World War. In the poem, Heaney explores Ledwidge’s complex identity, and the competing experiences which shaped it, in an attempt to understand not just Ledwidge, but himself. Like Heaney, Ledwidge was a ‘literary, sweet-talking, countrified’ young man. Heaney suggests that Ledwidge’s loyalty to the Irish nation, notwithstanding what some might see as his contradictory decision to volunteer in the British Army, render him something of a ‘dead enigma’. Heaney wrote:

I think of you in your Tommy’s uniform, A haunted Catholic face, pallid and brave, Ghosting the trenches with a bloom of hawthorn Or silence cored from a Boyne passage-grave. Can you identify any of the attendees photographed above at the funeral of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa? Photo: Glasnevin Trust. The lecture was followed by a panel discussion, moderated by Dr John In New York, where O’Donovan Rossa Century Ireland is an online historical I was pleased to accept the invitation Bowman, with Professor John Horne of lived for much of his life, a number newspaper published on a fortnightly to participate in [the] ceremony at the Trinity College Dublin and Mr Don of commemorative and community basis during the Irish Decade of Belfast Cenotaph and to lay a wreath, Mullan, founder of the Christmas Truce events will take place to mark the Centenaries. News reporting on life in on behalf of the Irish Government, to and Flanders Peace Field Project. centenary of his death. These include Ireland 100 years ago is supported by a remember all those who died. I believe a GAA tournament at Gaelic Park in wealth of visual, archival and contextual attendance at such commemorations Commemorating the the Bronx, a Catholic mass and other material to facilitate an understanding shows respect for all traditions and commemorative events hosted by of the complexities of Irish life in the helps further reconciliation on the island funeral of Jeremiah the Cork Association in New York, years between 1912 and 1923. of Ireland and across these islands. and a wreath-laying ceremony at O’Donovan Rossa Century Ireland is produced by a Elsewhere for the third year, the the O’Donovan Rossa memorial at team of researchers at Boston College Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD, participated June 2015 marks the centenary of St. Peter’s Church in Staten Island. Ireland and the project is funded by the in a Remembrance Sunday ceremony in the death of the prominent Fenian, Glucksman Ireland House at New Department of the Arts, Heritage and the Enniskillen, the scene of a devastating Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa. During the York University and the American Irish Gaeltacht. It is hosted by RTÉ, Ireland’s IRA bombing of 1987. The Tánaiste, funeral, which took place on 1 August Historical Society will also collaborate national television and radio broadcaster, Joan Burton TD, attended the 1915 in Glasnevin Cemetery, Pádraig on an exhibition and a lecture to and the site is complemented by RTÉ’s Remembrance Sunday service in St Pearse gave the funeral oration, which coincide with the anniversary of the broadcast schedule and material from Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. Ireland’s contained the famous lines: Pearse oration in August. its archives. Its website can be accessed Ambassador in London, Dan Mulhall, The Fools, the Fools, the Fools! – they here: www.rte.ie/centuryireland. laid a wreath at the official ceremony have left us our Fenian dead – And there. This was the first time that Free Website Resources – Further online information on the while Ireland holds these graves, Ireland Ireland was represented at the London 1916 and centenary commemorations unfree shall never be at peace. Trinity College Dublin History ceremony since 1946. can be found on these websites: Untill October 2015, members of the Course and Century Ireland www.ireland.ie and public can see Pearse’s oration at the www.decadeofcentenaries.com. On 16 March 2015, Trinity College President Higgins attends grave of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa re- Dublin relaunched its highly successful enacted daily by an actor dressed in full ceremonies marking the ‘massive open online course’ (MOOC), Irish Volunteer uniform. Remembrance Sunday 2014 ‘Irish Lives in War and Revolution: beginning of the First As part of its Decade of Centenaries Exploring Ireland’s History 1912- Services marking Remembrance Sunday World War in Belgium commemorations, Glasnevin Cemetary is 1923’. This free programme is in 2014 held a special significance, putting together an exhibition dedicated accessible across the world, and will as they marked the centenary of On 4 August President Higgins to O’Donovan Rossa and the influence enable participants to explore the lives the beginning of the First World attended the official ceremony held in his funeral had on Ireland a year later in of men, women and children who lived War. Minister Flanagan attended the Liège, Belgium, to mark the beginning 1916. Glasnevin Cemetary has issued a through war, revolution and the social Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the of the First World War. Liège was the call for help from the public to identify changes that made modern Ireland. Cenotaph in Belfast on 9 November first city to be attacked by German members of the funeral cortege present Active learning will be encouraged 2014, where he laid a laurel wreath. The forces in August 1914. Over seventy on the day of the funeral (seen in the through videos, assignments and Minister was joined by the Secretary countries were invited to attend, sixteen photograph on next page). There has discussions. More information on of State for , Theresa of which were represented by Heads been an enormous response from the this course, which is designed and Villiers MP, and the First Minister of of State. The President and his wife public to date but if you have any further moderated by Trinity historians, is Northern Ireland, Peter Robinson Sabina were welcomed by the King and information please contact the Glasnevin available here: www.futurelearn.com/ MLA, as well as Lord Mayor of Belfast, Queen of Belgium, before participating Trust or visit its website here: www. courses/irish-history. Nichola Mallon. Minister Flanagan in a commemorative ceremony at the glasnevintrust.ie. reflected on the event: Interalliés at Cointe. Later that evening the President and Mrs Higgins joined dignitaries from , Belgium and Germany at a commemorative service hosted by the United Kingdom at St. Symphorien Military Cemetery in Mons. Lieutenant Maurice Dease from Co. Westmeath, who was the first person to be posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross during the First World War, is among the many Irish buried in St Symphorien.

Irish Anzacs Database Last October, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Charles Flanagan Minister Flanagan and Minister Deenihan at the launch of Ireland’s Diaspora Policy TD, together with the Australian Ambassador to Ireland Dr. Ruth Adler, Speaking at the launch, Minister launched the Irish Anzacs Database in Launch of Ireland’s Deenihan observed: University College Dublin (UCD). Diaspora Policy Any history of the is The Irish Anzacs Project aims to identify only half told without mentioning all of the estimated 6,000 Irish-born Global Irish, Ireland’s Diaspora Policy the waves of emigrants who left our enlistments in the Australian Imperial was launched on 3 March 2015 by the shores over many generations. I hope Force during the First World War and Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD together with that this Policy reminds our emigrants to compile an open-access database the Tánaiste Joan Burton TD, Minister abroad of the importance the Irish containing information on each of them. Flanagan, and the Minister for Diaspora Government attaches to ensuring The launch was then followed by a Affairs, TD. This that the connections that tie them to day-long symposium on ‘Australia and important policy document recognises Ireland are nurtured, strengthened Ireland in the First World War’. that Ireland has a unique and important and intensified. relationship with its diaspora. It defines Speaking before the launch, Minister the Government’s role to both drive and A fourth Global Irish Economic Forum Flanagan remarked that: foster diaspora engagement in a way that: will be held in Dublin in November this pioneering work... is a true tribute to 2015. New initiatives contained in » Supports those who have left Ireland the Irish Anzacs and a gift to researchers, » the policy include a Global Irish and need or want support; family members of Anzac participants, Civic Forum which will meet in June and all us who possess an abiding »» Connects in an inclusive way with 2015, a Global Irish Media Fund interest in our history... This year is the those, of all ages, around the world to encourage and support media centenary of the outbreak of the First who are Irish, of Irish descent or have coverage of the diaspora and World War, which claimed more Irish a tangible connection to Ireland, and emigration experiences, and an alumni lives than any other conflict. Irish and wish to maintain a connection with challenge fund to provide seed- Australians stood shoulder to shoulder Ireland and with each other; funding to new collaborative initiatives in Gallipoli and at the Somme, and I am by Irish institutions to target their » Facilitates a wide range of activity at delighted that today we continue to work » Irish and non-Irish graduates working local, national and international level together in more peaceful times. internationally. designed to build on and develop The Irish Anzacs Database will be two-way diaspora engagement; Minister Deenihan will establish an officially launched in Australia at interdepartmental committee to » Recognises the wide variety of people the 14th Australasian Congress on » oversee the implementation of the who make up our diaspora and the Genealogy and Heraldry in Canberra on policy. They will produce a progress important ongoing contribution that 28 March 2015, ahead of the centenary report in two years. they have made, both individually commemorations of the Gallipoli and collectively, in shaping our Further information is available on Campaign, in which many Irish-born development and our identity; www.dfa.ie/global-irish and by Anzacs perished. following @globalirish on Twitter. » Evolves to meet changing needs in The Irish Anzacs Project is a research » changing times. undertaking of the Global Irish Studies Centre at University of New South Wales (UNSW), made possible by a grant from the Department of Foreign Updates on forthcoming commemorative initiatives will be posted on the website Affairs and Trade’s Emigrant Support of your local Embassy or Consulate, and on the website of the Department of Programme. Further information on Foreign Affairs and Trade. the project is available here: https:// Useful links: hal.arts.unsw.edu.au/about-us/ community-engagement/irish-studies/ Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: www.dfa.ie irish-anzacs-database/ Official Website for Ireland 2016: www.ireland.ie/ Decade of Centenaries: www.decadeofcentenaries.com Century Ireland: www.rte.ie/centuryireland/