Let the artists proclaim what it is to be Irish, as they did back in 1916

The national conversation about 1916 is starting in earnest. What did it mean then; what does it say about us now?

Let the artists proclaim what it is to be Irish, as they did back in 1916

It’s past time, I think, that we had a long talk about us, our identity, and what deceptively simple, but actually extraordinarily complex words such as “Ireland” and “Irish” mean. Amidst all the hullabaloo about what we do, there has been little enough thinking about who we are.

Mostly, we just get on with it. Periodically, we break out in extraordinary anger. Usually, the anger subsides, and little ultimately changes. Is that passivity? I don’t think so. Being laid back is more about our vanity than our make-up. Turn over the carefree in our character and there is selfishness underneath. We give in an abundance of small ways; when it matters on big issues, we are self-interested to a fault. There can be much charm and charity in our society; but precious little of the change that could matter.

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