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Knowing and Forgetting the Easter 1916 Rising
Author(s) -
O'Driscoll Cian
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
australian journal of politics and history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.123
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1467-8497
pISSN - 0004-9522
DOI - 10.1111/ajph.12371
Subject(s) - irish , contest , forgetting , history , political economy , legitimacy , meaning (existential) , political science , sociology , law , psychology , epistemology , philosophy , politics , linguistics , cognitive psychology
The centenary of the Easter 1916 Rising was a source of both celebration and no little anxiety in Ireland. On the one hand, the centenary provided a welcome opportunity for Irish people to take stock of the violent past that optimists hope it has recently left behind. On the other hand, it signalled an occasion for a form of legitimacy contest as various groups, the Irish government among them, jostled to present themselves as the true heirs of the Rising. Sparked by these controversies, this paper asks what meaning the Rising holds for contemporary Ireland. Is it a sacrifice to be redeemed, a patrimony to be claimed, or a past to be shucked off? The answer to this question, it argues, will have a significant bearing on how Ireland faces an uncertain future in an increasingly dangerous world.