A reading of the Proclamation of Independence and a subsequent symposium took take place outside of the Berkley Library as part of the nationwide Proclamation Day celebrations.
Organised by the Department of Education and Skills, Proclamation Day involves a reading of the Proclamation of Independence by every school in the country. Each school will also create a “Proclamation for a New Generation”, which aims to reflect the nation’s “vision for a modern Ireland”.
The event in Trinity, which took place at 11.45am at the Berkeley podium, was organised by the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) 1916 Centenary Initiative, spearheaded by Liam Cowley, a third-year history and political science student. Music was provided by Trad Soc and the Provost, Patrick Prendergast, was in attendance.
Speaking to The University Times, Cowley explained the reasoning behind Proclamation Day: “To acknowledge the timeless document which is the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic and to remember those who fought and died for the achievement of its aims and principles, such as Irish freedom, republican citizenship, universal suffrage and an egalitarian society.”
Crowley also emphasised the importance of encouraging young people to engage with the Proclamation and the 1916 Rising. The initiative hopes to “make younger people reflect on the significance of the things which has happened in the past. And question why these things are significant”.
Following the reading, the Trinity Long Room Hub, in conjunction with the Department of History, will host a symposium which “will consider the 1916 Proclamation in its national and international context”. The symposium will feature three panels of professors, the first of which will discuss six other key rebellions that took place within the 300 years before the 1916 Easter Rising.
The second panel will examine how the Proclamation of Independence was shaped by other global declarations, such as the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, which took place in France in 1789. A modern interpretation of the Proclamation will be outlined by the final panel.
The Proclamation Day is just one of many events organised in the lead-up to the official commemorative ceremony on Easter Sunday, which will be on March 27th this year. On March 31st, the TCDSU 1916 Centenary Initiative will host their final event, a lecture address by retired Brigadier General in the US Army and a member of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, James Cullen, which will examine the 1916 Rising in a military context.
Correction: 14:30, January 25, 2015
An earlier version of this piece incorrectly referred to Liam Cowley as Liam Crowley. It also stated that he is a third-year law and political science student. He is a third-year history and political science student.
