Tom Collins: Why we are still haunted by 1916 and ‘blood sacrifice’ |
EASTER Tuesday 1916 and the British counter-offensive is underway, with the Shelbourne Hotel occupied by the army and martial law imposed. The rebels were doomed - though not their cause.
That rebellion is now part of history, and after 110 years it is well outside our living memory; but it remains a potent force in the lives of nationalists today - a reference point for the unfulfilled ambition to see Ireland united and an independent nation.
There’s a similar point of reference for unionists. Just a few months after the Rising, the Somme happened. The wanton destruction of a generation of young Ulster men had ramifications far beyond the killing fields of France; though, lest we forget, countless nationalists lost their lives there too.
Yes, 1916 was one of those years. As the hymn says: “Change and decay in all around I see.”
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Sadly, 2026 is shaping up to be one of those years too, though the killing fields are in the Middle East.
Scratch the surface of our politics today, and you will see it is defined by 1916: by pride in fighting men, and by survivors’ guilt; by the feeling we owe a debt to idealists who laid down their lives for our causes; in the continuing........