In the Ireland of 2016 to step
outside the official narrative is to be mad, bad, or an apologist for terrorism.
This denial or traducing of other narratives is to be daily observed in the commentary
of the political and media classes. In recent years this has been seen in the
coverage of grass root movements like the anti-war protests at Shannon, the
Shell to Sea campaign in Mayo and most recently in the anti-water charges
campaign. This denial of alternative narratives reached its most hysterical
apogee in the 2011 presidential election, where the Labour candidate quietly
wandered nodding and smiling through the most pleasant of questionings from
interviewers. The Sinn Fein candidate, on the other hand, was met with a
barrage of hatred and invective, though whether this hatred was because of his
involvement in the troubles or because of his working class background was
difficult to say.
What is most troubling is that
denial of narratives is no longer something that Ireland’s elite actively
choose to do. Instead exclusion is hard wired into the fabric of Ireland’s institutions,
whether they be political, cultural, economic or academic. The Abbey Theatre
seemed genuinely shocked to learn that women can actually write plays. The National University of
Ireland still appears to be locked into denial that women are capable of being professors .
As for the working class voting for anti-austerity candidates in the 2016
election – well that was not a valid expression of an alternative vision. Rather, so the narrative goes, it was a dangerous and uninformed dialliance with forces
that could damage the economic recovery…
There has been some progress
recently - marriage equality was a huge boost to all those excluded from
official Ireland. Yet, sadly it remains the case that overwhelmingly the
exclusion of other voices remains the default position of the Irish state.
Which brings me back, in my meandering way, to the army school visits.
As I say this was no innocuous
event. It meant that space was denied for people representing groups who were
involved in the Easter Rising, including trade unionists, feminists, socialist
and artists. A hundred years after the rising it is clear that we are not all
cherished equally, that there are voices that our children must not be exposed
to especially in the run up to first communion…
The city museum video of the
proclamation is a small but hopeful acknowledgement that there are other voices
in Ireland. Go along and check it out, and all the other incredible exhibitions
– you’d be surprised at how rich and diverse a history our city has.
As for Ireland itself, here’s
a small selection of alternative voices you might want to look at in this
centenary year. Enjoy!
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