Labour deputy leader Liz McManus has called on the Government to commemorate the policemen, soldiers and civilians who were killed in the 1916 Rising, as well as the members of the Irish Volunteers who died.
Ms McManus said it was not good enough just to commemorate those who died on the Somme at a separate event. All those involved in 1916 on whatever side, or none, should be remembered when the 90th anniversary of the Rising is commemorated this Easter.
"I was struck by the fact that at the most recent event to commemorate those who died on Bloody Sunday, British soldiers who were killed in the Northern conflict were also remembered. If we can deal so maturely with such a traumatic event of our recent past surely we can deal with 1916 in a mature fashion," she said.
Ms McManus said that 1916 was certainly a significant event in our history and it had to be commemorated. "We should not forget the ideals of those who took part in the Rising as they still have a relevance today but we should not be afraid to remember all who died at Easter 1916." Ms McManus said that the names of people such as Clarke, Pearse, MacDermott, MacDonagh, Colbert, Connolly were all familiar to us from 1916 and their sacrifice deserved to be honoured.
"However, these same surnames occur in the lists of men decorated, wounded or killed in British uniform during Easter week 1916 in Dublin. The Royal Dublin Fusiliers were among the regiments called upon to put down the Rising and Irishmen served in many of the other units involved.
"It is easy for the Irish State to honour those who died far away in Flanders or Gallipoli. Are we tolerant enough now, 90 years on, to officially respect those troops of the same army who fell on the then Sackville Street or at Mount Street Bridge?" she asked.
Ms McManus has been nominated by Labour to serve on an all-party committee planning for the 100th anniversary of the Rising in 2016.
"When the committee meets I will be proposing that party politics should be taken out of the centenary celebrations.
"What we are seeing at the moment is the old story of Fianna Fáil trying to claim Irish history as their own. It is arrogant and historically inaccurate."
Ms McManus said President Mary McAleese's speech about the Rising was a simplistic, old-fashioned view of the event which did not capture the broader context in which it happened.
