On this day, September 18th, in 1914, the Government of Ireland Act had
reached the statute books in Westminster. This act was set to give Ireland Home
Rule; something that the Irish politicians and the Irish people had been aiming
towards for decades. But, as is natural in Irish history, bad luck has to mock
the wishes of the downtrodden Irish (as if Father Time and Mother Éire had had
a very difficult divorce. This probably originated in the early Middle Ages
when Ireland refused to experience the Dark Ages. )
World War I shook the Home Rule Bill off the table in Westminster. And it
would only be back on the table after the conflict had ended.
“Hmmm, lunchtime, maybe? If not, then surely by Christmas?”
Eh, no.
And so, frustrated by this, the IRB (Irish Republican Brotherhood) met to
decide the fate of Irish republicanism. The Easter Rising was the ultimate
result of this meeting. In commemoration of the importance of the site (north
Parnell Square), the Garden of Remembrance was opened in 1916, on the 50th
anniversary of the 1916 Rising.
For those
who gave their lives in the fight for Irish freedom…
Incidentally, also on this day, in 1922, another bill rose to attention.
This was the Constitution of Saorstát
Éireann Bill, which W. T. Cosgrave (the first Taoiseach/Prime Minister/
President of the Executive Council of
the Irish Free State) introduced to enable the implementation of the Treaty between
Great Britain and Ireland.
And its successor is still on the table.
In Dublin, not Westminster.
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