Taoiseach rebukes ‘dishonour’ of Irish flag by ‘using it to divide or exclude’

By Rebecca Black, Press Association

The Taoiseach has criticised those who “dishonour” the Irish flag by “using it to divide or exclude”.

Speaking during a commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising, which contributed to Ireland becoming an independent state in 1922, Micheál Martin said it was a tragedy that a “number of groups” disrespected the tricolour.

The Taoiseach told the Arbour Hill commemoration, organised by his Fianna Fáil party, that the Proclamation read at the start of the Rising “promotes equality”.

“The men and women who led the Rising were deeply modern and outward looking – even in their cultural nationalism,” he said.

“They had experience of different parts of Europe and the world.

“They respected other cultures and they sought out ideas for the Ireland they hoped to bring about.”

Martin went on: “The Proclamation expresses an open sense of Irishness.

“It promotes equality. It seeks friendship between nations, and it rejects the idea that the end justifies the means.

“Though closely identified with the revival of Gaelic culture, the drafters of the Proclamation made it very clear that Irishness had to include different traditions.

“They used the tricolour as our national flag specifically because they rejected the idea of it belonging to one group in Irish society.

“For them, it was and should always be a profound symbol of inclusion.”

Martin claims some groups treat the Irish flag as a “weapon”.

“It is a tragedy that over recent years a number of groups have sought to disrespect the tricolour by making it a symbol of division and exclusion,” he said.

“Groups, often from radically different ideologies, have regularly treated it as a weapon to assert their superiority or their claim to be more Irish or more republican than others.

“Everyone who truly believes in the message of the Proclamation and the ideals of the men and women of 1916 should reject this abuse of our shared national flag.

“Using our flag to promote aggressive and exclusionary views is wrong.

“If you don’t understand that the flag belongs to everyone, including people you disagree with, then you don’t understand the most basic things about what our flag stands for.

“You also dishonour the people who made it the uniting symbol of a rising Irish people.

“Never forget that the Proclamation directly demanded that all who serve the Republic would do so with honour.

“Sectarianism and division were seen as a threat to be confronted.”