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Congressman Richard Neal, D-Springfield, spoke at Boston College's "Reflections on the 100th Anniversary of Ireland's 1916 Easter Rising," a standing-room only event held Monday evening, Feb. 22, 2016. Neal was joined by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, the son of Irish immigrants from Co. Galway, who spoke of the importance of honoring the struggle for self-determination the world over.
(Lee Pellegrini)
BOSTON — It's been 100 years since a motley bunch of rebels seized control of Dublin's General Post Office, where Patrick Pearse famously proclaimed Ireland's independence from Britain during an ill-fated uprising that was quelled by crown forces in just six days.
But the subsequent execution of the uprising's leaders – a poet, a teacher, a socialist and a railway clerk, among others – sparked a nationalist movement that eventually led to Ireland's sovereignty and an end to 800 years of British subjugation. The end result was the birth of a nation for an ancient people with a long history of fighting for a seemingly unobtainable goal: freedom.
Ireland has been holding a year-long program of events to celebrate the centennial of the Easter Rising, the April 1916 event that ultimately led to the War of Independence, the Irish Civil War, the Partition of Ireland, the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, and the establishment of the Republic of Ireland in 1949.
Americans of Irish descent are also commemorating the uprising, which was the subject of a special event, "Reflections on the 100th Anniversary of Ireland's 1916 Easter Rising," on Monday evening at Boston College.
Speaking at the event were U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, a champion of the Northern Ireland peace process and a key congressional leader on Irish issues, and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, a student of Irish history and the son of immigrants from County Galway. Neal, an avid historian, is a longtime guest lecturer at UMass Amherst, while Walsh is a graduate of Boston College's Woods College of Advancing Studies.
Walsh and Neal shared their insights before a crowd of about 350 people, who packed the "Irish Room" at B.C.'s iconic Gasson Hall for an event sponsored by the college's Center for Irish Programs. The Rev. Oliver P. Rafferty, a Jesuit priest and director of B.C.'s Irish Studies Program, said he was delighted that Neal and Walsh, "two prominent Irish-Americans," were able to take part in Monday's event.
Neal said it was an honor to talk about the Easter Rising, an event that initially prompted scorn from rank-and-file Dubliners. "It was met with skepticism and, in some cases, derision," he said. After the rebels were executed, however, "they became martyrs overnight," Neal said.
The Proclamation of the Irish Republic, read by Pearse outside the General Post Office in the heart of Dublin, explicitly mentions the support the attempted revolution had from Ireland's "exiled children in America." Indeed, Ireland's hard-fought independence was the byproduct of grit, determination and support from Irish-Americans, many of whom had gone on to succeed in cities like Boston, New York and Philadelphia and sent aid back home to support the cause of Irish freedom.
For Neal, the chance to address the crowd at Boston College was not only a privilege, but evidence of the longtime bond between Ireland and America. "This was a very prestigious forum," he said, citing the college's history of "providing opportunities for Irish immigrants"
For Walsh, who thanked Neal for his "decades of leadership" in fostering U.S.-Ireland relations, the forum was a chance to reflect on "what the Rising means to me and my family on a personal level." The mayor's parents are both from the Connemara region of Galway. His father came to Boston in 1956, and his mother came over in 1959.
"They kept strong ties with home, and they believed in preserving and passing on their culture to their children," Walsh said. "I had the great privilege of being American, and also having a living connection to Ireland. I got to experience the unique way that American identity is constantly being revitalized by different cultures from around the world. And that's something as mayor that I encourage all our immigrants to do, wherever they come from."
His upbringing included a keen awareness of Irish history, coupled with "a strong pride in Irish independence," he said. The Irish people's long struggle for self-determination was not something that was left behind, "but a value we brought with us, that gave life to our journey," Walsh said. "The Easter Rising was one of the historical touchstones for that pride. We felt it in the connections that many of the leaders had to the United States, and the support they got from, as they said, Ireland's 'exiled children in America.'"
In 2014, as part of his first overseas trip as mayor, Walsh spent time in Belfast, the strife-torn capital of Northern Ireland that was a headline on the nightly news for much of the 1970s and '80s.
"While not every issue is resolved, the progress is incredible and the optimism is infectious. It's a model for the world of how to build peace," Walsh said, praising Neal, former Sen. George Mitchell, the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, and former President Bill Clinton for their efforts to ensure a lasting peace in Northern Ireland.
Neal was among the U.S. leaders who was present during Ireland's "darkest times," Walsh said, supporting those who took risks for peace and calling on Americans to honor this nation's historic bond with Ireland. "So it's fitting you are leading us tonight," Walsh said of the congressman, "as we honor that historic bond again by marking the momentous anniversary that is fast approaching: the 100th year since the Easter Rising of April 24, 1916."
Another point of Irish pride for Walsh: Pearse, leader of the Easter Rising, had a strong connection to the small Irish-speaking village where the mayor's mother was raised. "Perhaps most personally, I take pride in the fact that Patrick Pearse developed his ideas about human freedom in my mother's home village of Rosmuc," Walsh said. "He was a native of Dublin but, like many people then and now, he went to Connemara to rediscover the Irish culture and language that had been suppressed."
Pearse spent many summers in Rosmuc, learning from local storytellers, bringing students from Dublin, and writing some of his most important works – including the famous 1915 speech in which he declared, "Ireland unfree shall never be at peace." His cottage in Rosmuc has been restored as a national heritage site.
"I've spent many summers myself in Rosmuc," Walsh said. "I can testify to the way the land there inspires you, the people inspire you, and the culture inspires you. It is something special, to be able to trace back this desire for self-determination in the Easter Rising to the same place that gave it to my parents, who passed it on to me."
The Easter Rising happened on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, when a group of Irish nationalists proclaimed the establishment of the Irish Republic and, along with some 1,600 followers – including 100 women in support roles – staged a rebellion against British rule in Ireland.
In Ireland, the uprising initially was viewed as folly and an unnecessary distraction, particularly since so many Irishmen at the time were off fighting with the British Army in the battlefields of Europe during World War I . However, attitudes changed after the leaders of the Rising were executed, turning the rebels into martyrs and spurring an islandwide movement for Irish independence.