108. Risings!

The Irish have had their share of “risings” or rebellions since The Great Hunger in the mid 1800’s. They all failed. But each time the thirst for freedom was watered until Independence was finally gained in 1922. The most impactful attempt was the Easter Rising of 1916. A clandestine shipment of guns did not arrive and the leaders of the rebellion in Dublin were forced to surrender. The GPO or General Post Office in City Center still has bullet holes in its outer stone walls to testify to their last stand. Today, just minutes north of there is the Garden of Remembrance near the jail where they were imprisoned and executed. Now it’s sacred ground with a monument to the sixteen leaders who gave their lives in the quest for freedom. 

I write of this because it’s a real challenge for any city to construct a memorial to its tragic past without romanticizing or glorifying it, but simply honoring the sacrifice made. I’ve seen this creatively imagined in Berlin and Kosovo. The Garden of Remembrance in Dublin is no exception. It is true to its purpose. As you enter you see  a reflection pool with blue tile sunken into the earth. Upon closer observation you see tiled images of swords and shields lying on the bottom. Walking further the pool reveals itself as the form of a cross. It lies sunken into the ground as if a sepulcher.  At the far end, rising up is a statuary of falling figures with four swans flying upward. It's from a legend where four children were transformed into swans for 900 years before becoming human again. Here in this Garden of Remembrance, that imagery is a reminder that Ireland had to wait centuries until their children became free.

On the curved back wall there is a striking verse in Irish. In English one excerpt reads . . 

“In the winter of bondage we saw a vision.

We melted the snow of lethargy. And the river of Resurrection flowed from it . . .

Generations of Freedom Remember Us, the Generations of the Vision.”  

A past generation of Irish leaders with a vision speak to the future generation who benefit by its fulfillment. A powerful reminder that collectively or individually we may not always reach our goal, but the striving, the vision of the goal, makes future realization possible. It lays the foundation. It plants a seed for success.

A misty rain begins to fall. A breeze brushes through the trees and high hedges. Along the edge of the monument as well as on the coping on the cross shaped pool is a similar motif of rippling lines like a wave. The motif repeats itself through the garden. Any action taken is not too small as to have a ripple effect now or in the future. 

This garden sanctuary in Dublin remembers those who gave all for the next generation to have freedom. Well worth a visit of contemplation. A sanctuary in an urban landscape. A memorial to freedom in the heart of the Irish Republic.