Public lecture to look at the real Patrick Pearse
By Kernan Andrews
Patrick Pearse is one of the most important figures in Irish 20th century history yet he is also one of the most maligned because he is so misunderstood.
He is commonly seen as a romantic dreamer, a sexually repressed Roman Catholic, and a conservative nationalist, but the real Pearse was much more radical, progressive, and engaged in modern debates, than the common view of him allows.
Few are aware that from an early stage Pearse was a fervent supporter of women’s rights at a time when the demands of suffragettes were widely considered to be a joke. He later developed a philosophy of education which would be considered radical today, and protested vehemently against the poor wages paid to teachers.
These and other fascinating insights into Pearse’s thinking will be explored in a lecture entitled The Real Patrick Pearse by the journalist and academic Mícheál MacAonghusa. The talk will be hosted by The James Connolly Forum in Richardson’s, Eyre Square, on Wednesday November 25 at 8pm.
In his talk Mr Mac Aonghusa will emphasise the anti-sectarianism of Pearse who proposed that the terms Gael, Gall, and Gall-Gael be substituted by “the common name of Irishman”. The speaker will emphasise the close bond between Pearse and James Connolly and the development of Pearse’s thought between 1913 and 1916 by which time he had adopted a view which nowadays would be described as left republican.
Chairing the forum will be Independent councillor Seosamh Ó Cuaig. The lecture will be held in English and the question and answer session will be bi-lingual.