With de Valera in the grave

The run-in to the New Year saw the standard release of previously confidential government papers in Britain and Ireland under the thirty year rule. As usual the main point of common interest between them is the Northern Ireland crisis. However there are no major revelations in this year's papers; none would have been expected anyway since the papers cover 1975 when the situation had stabilised. The decision to abolish internment had already been made, and Unionist militancy had peaked with the collapse of the power-sharing Sunningdale agreement. Hence accounts of Northern Ireland in 1975 that don't differ that much from today, with the exception of course of still potent terrorist campaigns 30 years ago.

Of some interest however is the two governments' impressions of events during the funeral of Eamon de Valera (for our readers less familiar with Irish history, think of the Alan Rickman character in Michael Collins). De Valera's death was awkwardly timed, because the founder of the Republic's Natural Party of Government, Fianna Fail, had died while the usual opposition was in power. Against this backdrop, consider first the droll diplomatic description of his funeral offered by a British embassy staffer in his account to the UK Foreign Office (this & next link from Irish Times, subs. req'd):

"Irish memories are long," wrote John Hickman to the Republic of Ireland department of the foreign and commonwealth in London, "but even they must now begin to put Eamon de Valera aside as a political mentor for the 1970s and consign him to the pantheon of Founding Fathers."

At the event, the level of foreign representation "was probably not as high as the Irish people might have hoped". Confident predictions of a gathering of heads of state were "not realised". Even the "anticipated crew of Irish American vote-seeking politicians did not materialise", which was "probably as much a relief to the Irish government" as it was to the British representatives ...

While the ceremony was "conducted with due decorum", this only lasted so far as the gates of Glasnevin Cemetery. At that point, enthusiastic but unofficial mourners pushed through police cordons and elbowed visiting dignitaries from the graveside, adding "an Irish touch to the proceedings".

Now what looked to the British Embassy like "an Irish touch" looked to the Irish government like a Fianna Fail touch. Here's their version of what happened:

"Having broken ranks at the gate of the cemetery, the leading group of the opposition [Fianna Fail] made their way to the rear of the graveside area. The barrier was moved alongside by the gardaí and a large group... proceeded to take up positions at the area reserved for council of state, diplomatic corps and members of the government."

A further departmental report stated that a "large group of members of the opposition" entered the reserved spaces in the graveyard. "As a result, only the relatives, president, taoiseach and (some) members of the council of state could be accommodated at, or near, these spaces that had been earmarked for them. Other members of the government, visiting dignitaries and others took up whatever space was available when they reached the graveside area."

A newspaper report in the files told of chaotic scenes at the graveside, noting Princess Grace of Monaco "looked anxious at one stage" as she was jostled by the crowd.

The note also is also symbolic of mid-1970s geopolitics, when the allure of post-colonial leaders had not yet faded:

The then president of Uganda Idi Amin sent a telegram from Kampala describing the former taoiseach as "a great son and a statesman who had worked untiringly for the progress of his country. We pray to the almighty god to rest his soul in peace".

Ferdinand Marcos, president of the Philippines, wrote of de Valera: "He was a great man and will always be remembered for his unflinching devotion to the cause of freedom and for his far-seeing statesmanship and dynamic leadership."

Among the others who sent personal messages of condolence were Pope Paul VI; the Shah of Iran Mohammed Reza Pahlavi; the French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing; Queen Elizabeth and the British prime minister Harold Wilson; Spanish head of state Gen Francisco Franco; US president Gerald Ford; the Dalai Lama; and Yitzhak Rabin, prime minister of Israel.

A large number of messages came from the leaders of developing countries or former colonies, including Brig Murtala Mohammed, head of the Nigerian military government, who described de Valera as "in every respect, a great man".

Gen Mohamed Naguib, former president of Egypt, described the former taoiseach as "one of the greatest men of the present century", while Indira Gandhi wrote: "During our own freedom struggle, we drew inspiration from de Valera. My father regarded him as a friend and it was a privilege to receive him in India."

Returning to the British note now, it manages to offer a fairly incisive analysis of Dev's legacy:

... even de Valera's most notable achievement, the 1937 Constitution, was "coming increasingly under attack because it reflects so obviously the authoritarian Catholic and nationalist atmosphere of the Thirties and is no longer fitted to the needs of the modern state". In particular, the resentment that Articles 2 and 3 caused among the majority in Northern Ireland was "matched only by the obduracy" with which Fianna Fáil politicians still held on to them.

Indeed, while the Constitution had served as an inspiration to independence movement leaders elsewhere as a signpost for a sharper break with Empire than the Free State's dominion status had allowed, the document became outdated very quickly and has needed frequent amendment to deal with changing times; thus it has in many respects become a quasi-legislative vehicle rather than a relatively fixed statement of the state's governing principles. And it's not like all the problematic bits are gone. Consider for instance the article on press freedom, cited recently by Justice Minister Michael McDowell:

The education of public opinion being, however, a matter of such grave import to the common good, the State shall endeavour to ensure that organs of public opinion, such as the radio, the press, the cinema, while preserving their rightful liberty of expression, including criticism of Government policy, shall not be used to undermine public order or morality or the authority of the State.

-- a very qualified assertion of freedom of the press. Finally of course, his political party has changed considerably since he was at the helm. What for instance would he make of a likely spectacle in 2006 -- his successor receiving a visit from one of his telegrammatic mourners, Queen Elizabeth II?