Commemorating the past - No monopoly on virtue

In recent months, we have witnessed the start of an eight-year round of centenary commemorations of events extending from the Easter Rebellion of 1916 to the end of the Civil War in 1923.

President Michael D Higgins broke new ground on Sunday in becoming the first President to deliver the annual oration at Béal na Bláth. For over 90 years, the occasion was essentially too controversial and divisive for any President.

Mr Higgins was eloquent in his call for people to display honesty and courage in addressing the truth about the events, and in recognising that “no single side had the monopoly on either atrocity or virtue” during the War of Independence or the Civil War.