And It Lingers

Within weeks, Ireland will celebrate the 95th anniversary of the Easter Rising, the final grand gesture in a series of such grand gestures of rebellion.

Newcastlewest Books' soon to be released novel, A Terrible Beauty, follows the decades-long string of small events that led from the failed Fenian movement of 1867 through that fateful Easter Monday in 1916 when a rag-tag group of intellectuals and trade unionists started shooting.

After so long a fight, it's little wonder that a hatred of England would linger over the Emerald Isle. But after 95 long years? It lingers still.

The Queen of England is scheduled to visit Ireland after the dust settles following the big royal wedding. There have been all sorts of concerns expressed, not least that which deals with security. The offshoots of the IRA have upped the ante of late.

While security can be increased, there's nothing that the government can do to make the Irish people welcome British royalty. How embarrassing would it be when Her Majesty steps onto the pitch at Croke Park and finds a crowd shouting derision and offering reminders of the Bloody Sunday massacre of 1920?

Passed down from generation to generation, the traditions of the Gaelic Revival of the late Nineteenth Century are embodied in the Gaelic games that the GAA promotes. And the Gaelic Revival was an expression of rebel spirit that didn't die when Home Rule was routinely put back on the shelf from th 1890's and beyond.

Queen Elizabeth has already been barred from a Dublin pub, and this comes 95 years after the fight started.

Yes, but the fight hasn't yet ended. There are six counties still under British control, and there are many whose ancestors fought against the treaty that divided the nation.

The British monarch will visit Ireland, 95 years after the fight began in earnest. She won't be welcomed by all.

For such a singular event, the Irish government would like to put on its best face to show the world and the press corps that will be tagging along. Those who quietly fume over deeds long past might like to take the occassion to remind that same world that the Easter Rising of 1916 isn't quite done yet.

Makes for a rather unpalatable brew when you're the host of the big party and all the guests don't get along.