Republicanism still relevant, says Ahern at Pearse opening

Republicanism is a radical social philosophy which should continue to inspire us today, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has said.

Speaking at the opening of the restored family home of Padraig Pearse in Dublin yesterday, the Taoiseach said he had always "strongly admired the courage and vision of Padraig Pearse". The restored home, at number 27 Pearse Street, where Pearse was born and spent his early years, will be the headquarters of the Ireland Institute. Republicanism, said Mr Ahern, should inspire us "as we tackle problems of homelessness, lack of educational opportunity and the welfare of the migrant population".

Referring to a comment by the chairman of the Ireland Institute, Mr Damien Kiberd, that RTE was averse to speaking positively of Pearse, Mr Ahern said he had a "fine portrait" of him above his desk.

"So whatever about not talking about him, they can't dodge filming him when they come to film me," he said.

He noted the institute's emphasis on self-determination.

This, he said, was "central to our Constitution and to the new dispensation created by the Good Friday agreement".

Mr Ahern said his own party had been accused in a British government paper in 1945 of being "unwilling to forget the past or to abandon the theory that the State of Eire rests, not on agreement between political entities previously in union, but on the natural right of a nation to self-government". The party "had nothing to apologise for there".

Mr Ahern said he was sure his presence at yesterday's ceremony would underline the fact that "republicanism is not something out there on the political fringes but that it is a mainstream political force in this State, and arguably what gives it cohesion".

Much of politics in the coming years would be about working out and developing self-determination in conjunction with consent, he said, adding that the peace process had "broadened our destiny", in that it required us to "adopt a 32-county perspective" with regard to many important matters.

"The price of peace is that we may not neglect or ignore those who live on the other side of the Border. I hope the institute will encourage the cross-fertilisation of ideas and will take account of, and include, the reasoned position of other traditions in active dialogue with them." "Unionists are working in government for the first time with nationalists and republicans and are also engaging in wide-ranging North-South co-operation. They deserve respect for this and some understanding of their very real difficulties."

Pearse was born in number 27, the first of four children, to Margaret and James Pearse in 1879. James Pearse was an ecclesiastical and architectural sculptor and ran his business from the basement, first floor and yard of the house.

The family lived there until Padraig was five, when they moved to Sandymount.