APPENDIX 31
Memorandum submitted by Mr Bernard J Mulholland
A letter from Michael Mates appeared in the
Irish News explaining that the deadline for submissions to the
Northern Ireland Affairs Committee regarding "reconciliation"
was to be extended to the end of 2004. In true tradition I've
left it until the last possible moment to write in with a few
suggestions!
First, I'd like to suggest that the grievance
felt by many people affected by the "Troubles", whether
it be here in Ireland or in Britain and further afield, might
be assuaged through having a place of remembrance where they might
visit. As such I would like to suggest that a mausoleum, possibly
dedicated to Palladius (ie the first recorded bishop sent to minister
to the Christians in Ireland), built in imitation of the mausoleum
built by Constantine—the first Christian emperor—might
meet the needs of many people. By highlighting two people and
eras that existed at the interphase of the Pagan & Christian
worlds the mausoleum would include both, and would also serve
to remind people of a time when Christians were a unified congregation.
Constantine's mausoleum was circular or octagonal
in plan and roofed with bronze plates instead of clay tiles, so
that as you moved around it the dome would flash with reflected
light much like a cut diamond or a disco glitter-ball. If a latter-day
mausoleum were built in this way and placed where it could be
seen from the air, sea and land then it would be awe-inspiring.
The number of bronze plates used to roof the dome might reflect
a significant number, such as the date of the Belfast Agreement,
but I would suggest that to use it to reflect the number of those
killed/murdered during the "Troubles" might be divisive
in that it would exclude those that committed suicide because
of the sheer terror or stress of the "Troubles", those
that died overseas and those that have been overlooked. I would
so suggest that there be two sets of bronze roofing plates so
that the set that is removed for cleaning (to keep the dome burnished)
would be replaced by the second set.
Secondly, I'd like to suggest that reconciliation
might be aided through the commencement of an Irish history project
encompassing all the universities of Ireland (led by the Irish
Studies Institute at Queen's) with the remit to draw up a single
history & pre-history for Ireland to replace the plethora
of distorted versions currently available.
An imaginative project would include primary
and post-primary schools, and would enhance their participation
through having them collect "living histories" of their
parents & grandparents and their parish/townland using modern
tools of research such as the audiotape and video recorder. Whereas
the notion of "volunteerism" is well enshrined in Britaln
vis a" vis public participation in archaeological
excavations and local history societies, it is sadly lacking here
in Northern Ireland. An Irish history project could tap into volunteers
to research their local history, their genealogy and their surrounding
archaeological sites.
Thirdly, and related to the two above projects,
I've recently been pressing the Faculty of Humanities at Queen's
University in Belfast (I'm in the first year of a PhD in the Byzantine
Institute) that one or more international conferences be held
on the theme of "Republicanism".
In Ireland the theme of Republicanism has been
largely hijacked by an extreme element whose intellectual base
is very narrow and restricted. I think that it is time to expand
their horizons through contact with modern Republicans from the
USA, EU, Russia, China and elsewhere and also with historical
Republicans through Classical studies surrounding the Roman Republic,
Byzantine Republics and the formulation of the ideas therein.
And such conferences would be a total waste
of time if they didn't look to the future, both in Ireland and
the EU.
I hope that the ideas exercised here might prove
useful.
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