“Don’t insult 1916 fighters like my grandfather by inviting queen”

Brid Smith, the People Before Profit candidate for the Dublin euro election has condemned the decision to invite Queen Elizabeth to attend the centenary of the 1916 commemorations.

‘My grandfather fought in 1916 to free this country from monarchy and empire. He would turn in his grave at the thought that a British monarch attending a ceremony to commemorate the rising.

‘The presence of the queen would either trivialise the event or imply that an armed rising was not necessary.

‘The reality is that Queen Elizabeth will not be coming to Dublin to apologise for a history of colonisation that wrecked so much misery on Ireland. Her whole life of state subsidised privilege is based on honouring a legacy of empire and hierarchy.

‘The 1916 rebellion is, rightly, etched on the memories of the population at large as an honourable attempt to weaken the British empire while it was engaged in a bloody war with its German rival.

‘There is no equivalence between the 1916 rising and the carnage that was brought about by that imperial rivalry.

‘When Elizabeth Windsor gives up her throne and acknowledges the crime of empires, she will be welcome to attend the 1916 commemorations – as an ordinary citizen.

‘But as this is unlikely she should be kept as far away as possible to avoid insult to those like my grandfather who fought for freedom.’