Ireland remembers 1916

This paper considers the centenary commemoration of both the Easter Rising and the Battle of the Somme both fought in 1916, as emblems of Irish nationalist and Ulster Unionist identity, respectively. Giving a historical overview of both events, the essay reflects upon the development of exclusively partisan mythologies based on selective interpretations of both events. Highlighting the dangers as well as the opportunities of the current ‘decade of commemorations in Ireland’, the paper asks whether those on both sides of the nationalist and unionist divide cannot reach a point where they can respect and accommodate their differing interpretations of these cataclysmic events.