The People’s Flag: Clive Byrne on the importance of Thomas Francis Meagher’s ideals and respecting each other

Much of the routine of our lives is different. If we’re honest, we will realise that the pace of change Ireland has experienced over the last 20 years has changed us as a race and maybe not for the better. Ar scáth a chéile a mhairimid was central to our existence but in recent years, individual advancement has replaced the collective good at the heart of society. An unfortunate move from Sinn Féin to Mé Féin.

Throughout Europe there has been a rise in far-right marches against immigration with more than a hint of racism and racist attitudes. Ireland has not escaped this trend with many of these events festooned with protesters carrying Irish flags.

As Meagher said in the middle of the nineteenth century, “The white in the centre signifies the lasting truce between the orange and the green and I trust that beneath its folds the hands of the Irish Protestant and the Irish Catholic may be clasped in heroic brotherhood”.

Today his reference to Protestant and Catholic is less relevant but the call to us all to clasp hands in heroic brotherhood still applies.

The ideals of respect and tolerance are not advanced by negative and demeaning chants against newcomers to our shores. Ireland is a prosperous country, so it’s no wonder that less well-off people from overseas are keen to come here. According to the Central Statistics Office, 12% of our current population has a non-Irish background.

Pupils from 200 countries attend our schools speaking many languages. We are told that up to 13% of students have a disability and 20% experience deprivation.

As a nation, we must look on education with an openness to wonder and joy

The Thomas F. Meagher Foundation believes that our national flag is a symbol for all our nation and works with schools and others to harness the idealism of Irish youth in promoting pride, respect and peace.

Our schools are central to promoting diversity and inclusion. In our second level education system, most students study a Transition Year programme which is at the centre of many of the Foundation’s initiatives.

During the year, students benefit from work experience and social outreach programmes which will develop their self-confidence, social skills and their pride in being young Irish men and women whose lives are ahead of them as they reach their potential. Today, we need students who can think for themselves and enjoy equality of opportunity for all in a system that is equitable and respects differences.

Thomas F. Meagher was an idealist. As a nation, we must look on education with an openness to wonder and joy. Education should foster ways of living together with care for each other and for our common society under our national flag that promotes pride, respect, and peace.

Education is at the heart of Meagher’s ideals for Ireland – pride in our country, respect for one another and the joy of living in peace and rejoicing in our differences.

Clive Byrne is Chairperson of the Thomas F. Meagher Foundation