Always proud to honour our Flag
It is a pleasure to write a few opening remarks to this welcome and important supplement looking at the significance of our national flag, especially in the context of the Thomas F. Meagher Foundation. I commend the
Irish Independent for publishing this supplement and I hope you find articles of interest over the following pages.
I have held the office of Ceann Comhairle for just over a year, a challenging time as we reshape our political expectations and aspirations in the Houses of the Oireachtas, home of Dáil and Seanad Éireann. That short year has been absorbed with redefining the way the Oireachtas does its business, but also reflecting on the way our country has undertaken its own business in the one hundred years since the Irish flag was assertively raised above the GPO in Easter 1916. I am enormously proud of the dignified and respectful manner in which the recent commemorations have been conducted nationwide and look forward to ongoing engagement by politicians and members of the public as we all pause in our busy lives to reappraise this past century. That period of our shared history was difficult, contentious and politically charged, but throughout it, the symbol of our national flag served as a beacon of stability, affirmation and patriotism.
We often forget, or fail to notice, the prevalence of the flag in our daily lives, as it proudly sways in the Irish breeze above our public buildings and offices. It defines who we are as Irish men and women, but helps others to define us as well. I hope the Ireland of 2017 is a happier, more inclusive and tolerant place than the Ireland of yesteryear, and that our flag now flies over
a country welcoming of strangers and respectful of difference.
As Ceann Comhairle, I am conscious of the many who have come to make new lives for themselves in Ireland, be it temporarily or more long term. We welcome the cultural heritage, history and culture these friends from abroad bring to our country, weaving an every more colourful tapestry of shared experience for our small and proud island. The symbolism of our National Flag can continue to educate us and can also assist those making their home here learn more about us, uniting us in a wish to insist on the dignity of the individual and respect for our neighbour. Furthermore, just as the green and orange can be conjoined with a neutral and peaceful white, so we can extend a hand of friendship to those who may not agree with us on all matters in our public discourse. I have long found that a handshake is far less taxing than a clenched fist.
I commend all those involved in the Thomas F. Meagher Foundation who have undertaken excellent work promoting the meaning and significance of the Irish flag since it was first introduced by the Foundation’s namesake in 1848. I particularly congratulate them on their work in bringing the message of peace and respect contained in the Irish flag to so many schools throughout the country and their fine work last year to mark the centenary of the Easter Rising. The Foundation’s work continues apace with further plans to expand their educational mission, and I note with appreciation the contributions of both my Oireachtas colleague Senator Mark Daly and the Reverend Michael Cavanagh in this regard.
I have been pleased as Ceann Comhairle that I and the Foundation have joined forces to promote both the Foundation’s educational mission with my own Africa Project which seeks to raise much needed funds for a Trocaire project in Ethiopia. While the Easter Proclamation summoned our people to the flag to fight for our freedom, now that we have achieved that freedom, the peace and friendship represented in the green, white and orange must be recalibrated to find a deeper meaning. Perhaps the flag can summon us now to continue our long established generosity to those less fortunate than us, whether at home or abroad. There is as much dignity in giving as there is in receiving, and with Ireland’s long and noble history of self-help empowerment and local activism, I would urge those in a position to do so to consider supporting the Ceann Comhairle’s Africa Project and assist those currently experiencing difficulties in this region of Ethiopia to reach the massive potential they can so easily achieve with some assistance from friends in Ireland. Further details on this project can be found on the Trocaire website.
For me, the call to our National Flag is not just to indigenous Irish, but to all those who now regard Ireland as their home and in that regard, the flag represents all that is good about all of us: patriotism, inclusivity, tolerance, fair play and respect. I urge us all to listen to that call, to honour cultural heritage and diversity, and to reflect on the pride and respect that is encapsulated by our Tricolour.
Seán Ó Fearghaíl, TD Ceann Comhairle March 2017