Promise of the Proclamation can help us to right wrongs of our lost decade

ON SUNDAY I was at a ceremony in Arbour Hill commemorating James Connolly, a man who believed with all his heart that a free country had to exist for a free people. It was a moving ceremony, with a fine speech by Eamon Gilmore.

He remembered Connolly, and related his times and values to the challenges we’re facing now. “In this place,” he said, “we are surrounded by men and women who responded to the needs of their country — and their fellow countrymen and women — with courage; with selflessness; and with honour. Their sacrifice was not just for a free Ireland, but a better Ireland.”

“Each generation has its own challenge,” Gilmore said. “Today’s generation of Irish people finds itself called to serve at one of Ireland’s most difficult moments since Independence. There are no easy answers. There are challenging days ahead. Our future together depends on us acting together. We can do it, and we will, reminded that we are not the first to answer that call.”