The most consistently expressed wish was that 2016 should be a year that belongs to everyone. The people of Ireland were emphatic that whatever one’s political affiliation or interpretation of historical events, 1916 should be regarded as the property of no one and the patrimony of everyone.
Equally remarkable was the widely articulated desire that 2016 should be about looking to the future more than looking back, and that the primary purpose of looking back should be to rediscover the ideals and contextualise the actions of the revolutionary generation in the present, as a guide for our future.
People of all ages and backgrounds expressed a wish to rekindle the idealism that in 1916 found expression in the desire to be free, to be the authors and carriers of our cultural heritage, and to be equal among ourselves and among the nations – in short to create a country worthy of the name Republic.
This spirit of generosity, optimism and open-minded enquiry finds ample expression in the breadth and diversity of events and initiatives contained in the 31 County Programmes. It is no surprise that the hundreds of arts and culture events have emerged as the foundation stone of the commemorative programme around the country: evidence that people wish to use the forthcoming year of reflection not to assert a claim on collective memory but to seek from the past the finest qualities of that time as inspiration for this generation.
Find your local co-ordinator's contact details here.
Ba í an mhian is minicí a luadh ná go mbainfeadh 2016 le gach uile dhuine. Chreid muintir na hÉireann go láidir gur cheart breathnú ar 1916 mar oidhreacht a fágadh againn go léir, beag beann ar dhearcthaí polaitiúla nó léamha ar imeachtaí staire.
B’iontach freisin é gur dúradh go forleathan gur chóir go ndíreofaí le linn 2016 ar shúil a chaitheamh chun tosaigh seachas siar, ach go n-amharcfaí ar an stair go príomha chun na hidéil a bhí ann a aimsiú arís agus gnímh na glúine réabhlóidí a chur i gcomhthéacs an lae inniu, mar threoir don todhchaí.
Dúirt idir óg is aosta, as cúlraí éagsúla, gur mhaith leo an t-idéalachas a bhí ann in 1916 a athbheochan, an t-idéalachas a léiríodh sa mhian go mbeadh saoirse againn, gur fúinn féin a bheadh sé ár n-oidhreacht chultúrtha a fhorbairt, agus go mbeadh comhionannas againn eadrainn féin agus i measc na náisiún - go bunúsach, gur fiú Poblacht a thabhairt ar an tír.
Léirítear an fhlaithiúlacht, an misneach agus an intinn oscailte sin le leithead agus éagsúlacht raon na n-imeachtaí agus na dtionscnamh sa 31 Chlár Contae. Ní haon iontas é go bhfuil na céadta imeachtaí ealaíon agus cultúir ann mar dhúshraith an chláir chomórtha ar fud na tíre: is fianaise é sin gur mian le daoine an bhliain mhachnaimh a úsáid chun na gnéithe is dearfaí ón tréimhse sin a chur in iúl agus a úsáid mar spreagadh don ghlúin seo.
