1916 Proclamation

Over the centuries, thousands of revolutionary and political proclamations, declarations and manifestos have been issued in countries all over the world.

I doubt if you'll find one that isn’t full of high-flown rhetoric and promises of better times to come, or one that was actually implemented after a successful revolution or election.

So why do we treat the 1916 Proclamation with so much more reverence than we would the Election Manifesto of a modern political party?

I suggest it’s because the signatories of the 1916 Proclamation were fortunate. They were executed and thus saved from having to engage in the often sordid politics of the real world in attempting to deliver on their promises.

Footnote: Published as a letter in the Irish Independent and the Irish Examiner.