Maybe primary school is not the best place to learn about 1916

John Bruton is concerned about the appropriateness of army officers speaking in our primary schools about the 1916 Proclamation (Irish Examiner, January 23, 2016).

But the major, so far unanswered, question, really is: what are the children going to be told about the Proclamation?

Will it be presented to them reverentially as a sacred national text enshrining the ‘principles’ and ‘ideals’ of the insurgents? Or will it be critically analysed (by whom?) in context as an important historical document?

On reflection, the primary classroom may not, after all, be a suitable place for what must essentially be an adult discussion.

The Proclamation states that “the Irish people” have asserted their right to national freedom and sovereignty “...in arms....six times during the past three hundred years”. This is nothing less than a gross distortion of historical reality, nationalism masquerading as history, projecting a bogus sense of continuity leading up to the Rising.

During the coming weeks, on Proclamation Day especially, will this be exposed in detail to our children as the propaganda that it is?

The only authoritative person to clarify these important issues is the relevant minister, Heather Humphries.

John A Murphy

Emeritus Professor of History

University College Cork