Thursday, March 02, 2006
Some unionists get it
I've been reading an interesting book called 'The Making of Modern Irish History: Revisionism and the Revisionist Controversy' by D. George Boyce and Alan Day (you all know my feelings on revisionism) and in relation to interpretations of the Easter Rising I found these comments by the Unionist Arthur Aughey very refreshing as they show, in my opinion, a correct understanding of the Irish perception of the event. Aughey writes:"In Northern Ireland, republicanism means armed struggle. It is characterised by a contempt for all political reform. It demands the sacrifice of the present generation for the salvation of future generations. It is committed to completing the unfinished business for the national revolution. It claims fidelity to the 'true' ideal of 1916, which gives it legitimacy that transcends any current institutional reform. This ideological throwback is an acute discomfort to the republican state, whose legitimacy transcends the 'true' ideal of 1916, and its citizens can well understand the distinction between a rebellion against the rule of a foreign power (as 1916 is currently interpreted in the Republic) and the use of the gun to force one million people to accept a destiny they have consistently denied."
It's great to see a Unionist with a grasp of what 1916 means to the Republic and who doesn't seek to berate us for wanting to commemorate the event on the 90th anniversary of its occurrence.
Proper republicans will indeed honour proper republicanism.
# posted by United Irelander @ 5:23 PM 
© 2008 United Irelander.
