Flag Day memories
Commandant Stephen MacEoin reflects on a year of pride in presenting schools with flags
Akey component of the Ireland 2016 State Centenary Programme was the National Flag for Primary Schools Initiative. Between September 2015 and March 2016, members of Óglaigh na hÉireann carried out the significant and logistically challenging task of performing some 3,300 individual ceremonies at every primary school in the country.
Tasked by Government to execute this unprecedented initiative, units from the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service covered thousands of kilometres visiting these schools. It is truly astounding to remark that a primary school-going population of some 500,000 children were educated by Óglaigh na hÉireann on the true meaning of our National Flag and the symbolic peace between the two dominant traditions on our island that it represents.
Each visit saw Officers and NCOs present a half-hour ceremony, in which an Irish-made National Flag, a copy of the 1916 Proclamation, a copy of Amhrán na bhFiann (the score for which was originally set by the Army School of Music) and a formal certificate from Óglaigh na hÉireann were delivered as part of a setpiece ceremony.
Personnel were often visibly touched by the experience of the welcome they received, with an overwhelming feeling of achievement in helping to inspire pride amongst our young people. For many Officers and NCOs, the ceremony was a deeply personal one, since personnel were often scheduled to attend their alma mater in their own communities, or found themselves presenting the flag to their own children.
Many of the teams delivering the ceremonies reported that young people now had a renewed understanding, and respect for, our national flag and were anxious to show off their knowledge about the tricolour to their visitors. Every school, including private and island community schools was visited. Serving personnel with proficiency in Gaeilge visited the
Gaelscoileanna both inside and outside the Gaeltacht.
All of the printing, including a purposemade folder for the commemorative documents, was undertaken by the dedicated staff of the Defence Forces Printing Press. Staff from J4, the DFHQ logistics directorate, planned and controlled the significant logistical effort while staff from J6, the DFHQ Communications and Information Services directorate, mapped the entire operation across the electronic WAN (wide area network – the DF information and knowledge online sharepoint based system) using geographic information systems.
In many ways, it can be said that the idea to have Óglaigh na hÉireann carry out the National Flag for Schools Programme in late 2015/early 2016 acted as something of a primer for the crescendo of commemorative and celebratory events which were to take place over Easter weekend. Unprecedented numbers — estimated at more than one million — turned out on the streets of Dublin over Easter Sunday and Monday.
The Easter parade was the largest military parade since 1966 (the 50th
Anniversary) and included, in addition to all three services and members of the Reserve Defence Forces, our Veterans organisations, colleagues from An Garda Síochána and detachments representing the various other ‘blue light’ emergency services. While that parade and the incredible footage of Dublin taken by RTÉ from the air (courtesy of Air Corps helicopter assets) will live on in the public imagination, there were many other flag ceremonies of a smaller scale which were also important in their own right.
A visitor to the GPO on any other day during 2016 would notice, at exactly 12.00hrs, the National Flag being raised by members of the Óglaigh na hÉireann in the centre of O’Connell Street. This ceremony was quietly performed by military personnel every day from January 1 until New Year’s Eve 2016. It is worth pointing out that the flag raising ceremony, although unique under the public gaze at the GPO throughout this special year, is an honour that is paid to the flag every day in every barracks and military post at home, and one that is indeed replicated by our personnel who are currently serving overseas, on land and at sea, in 16 different countries.
Outside of Dublin, the National Flag was also raised by personnel of Óglaigh na hÉireann at 31 individual civic ceremonies last year — one for each local authority county area. Together with the flags for Schools initiative, this has allowed the many communities in which our personnel live and work to experience our professionalism at first hand and indeed to engage in commemorative ceremonies of their own with all of the dignity and solemnity that Óglaigh na hÉireann brings to formal ceremonial events at any level.