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REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE PLANTING OF A ‘LIBERTY TREE’  IN THE BULLRING, WEXFORD

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE PLANTING OF A ‘LIBERTY TREE’ IN THE BULLRING, WEXFORD, ON SUNDAY 31 MAY, 1998

Yesterday evening, I visited and opened the Fr. Murphy Centre at Boolavogue, having earlier unveiled a memorial to two young brothers – Philip and Patrick lacey – two unfortunate rebels who in 1798 were shot in Ballinglen, Co. Wicklow - as they tried to reach their homes in the aftermath of the retreat from Vinegar Hill. There have been many commemorative events – and many more are planned for this year – during the Bicentennial Commemoration of the 1798 Rebellion. Indeed there is scarcely a place in Ireland that wasn’t touched - in some way – by the Rebellion, as people answered the call from the United Irishmen, and echoed what had happened in America and France, in the drive for a new order – a new ideal of republicanism – which would embrace all classes and creeds in ‘liberty, equality and fraternity’.

The events in Ireland during the 1790’s were very much linked to events on the international stage – and were a part of the universal movement towards greater democracy. The United Irishmen drew on events in America and France for inspiration – and promoted the ideal of a non-sectarian, democratic and inclusive politics - which could attract and sustain all Irish people, with all their inherited complexities. Rather than grimly clinging to a divisive past, they sought to create a shared future. As they stated in their first declaration of principle - “We have thought much about our posterity, little about our ancestors”. In that process they were to succeed in uniting Dissenter, Anglican and Catholic in a common political mission.

For the United Irishmen, the ‘tree of liberty’ was their mascot - their symbol of regeneration and renewal. Having its origin in America – during the War of Independence – it was later taken up in the French Revolution, where is was adopted as their symbol of freedom. For the United Irishmen, that tree was a symbol of renewal – suggesting political rebirth and regeneration – and a new departure. It was also recognised as the international symbol of what is sometimes called the ‘Atlantic Revolution’ – the events in America and France that the United Irishmen were trying to emulate here. And in Ireland it took on an additional significance, being associated with the tradition of the ‘May Bush’– the festively decorated bush marking the beginning of the Summer which falls on Bealtaine – or May Day. For the United Irishmen – the legend of the ‘tree of liberty’ was used in their ‘Catechism’, as a means of identifying a fellow member. As we have already heard, the United Irish Catechism traces the ‘tree’ from America ,where it first grew - to France where it blossomed – and to Ireland where the seeds fell.

The events of 1798 echo to this day – and the seeds that were sown then still grow - having only recently been recalled in the context of the Good Friday agreement – where the Republicanism and Loyalism of today – have their roots in that eventful and pivotal period in this island’s history. The process of commemoration involves looking back to the ideals of the United Irishmen – and divesting ourselves of the baggage and interpretations that have ‘enhanced’ and coloured our reading of history since then. Taken in its proper context – and not as a sectarian and agrarian peasant uprising – it is not ‘owned’ by one tradition or culture. The Rebellion was exciting and breathtaking in its modernity – and is strikingly relevant to events in Ireland today.

In planting this tree today, in this ‘upgraded’ Bullring – we are commemorating the spirit and ideals of the United Irishmen – and recognising the links with America and France - and with Australia – to where many of the participants were transported. But this tree represents more than that link with the past – in that it symbolises the Ireland of today – an island which is poised to make a new beginning, incorporating those high principles of inclusion and respect for diversity – principles that had become lost in the turmoil and conflict which beset relationships between our traditions in the two centuries since then. And for us, it is also a symbol of hope – hope for a peace that will have an oak-like endurance – where we can finally settle down to an era of mutual respect and toleration – and even celebration - of diversity.

I commend you on choosing this very fitting symbol of the United Irishmen and the 1798 Rebellion – and in establishing the link with today’s Ireland. As this tree grows in the centuries ahead – we will live in hope that - like them - we will see religious, ethnic and political diversity as an opportunity to build a broader and more generous concept of identity – where we can all have a shared future.

ENDS