The idea that 1916 was a simple blood sacrifice or a romantic and spontaneous uprising by a group of fanatics will be parroted out to no end in the coming months. It doesn’t help that this is a revisionist myth. The reality is the Easter Rising was a product of certain conditions, conditions which the Establishment certainly won’t want admit today. The question must be asked, what makes 1916 different from other uprisings like 1798, 1803, 1867? All showed grand feats of heroism and sacrifice. All failed from a military point of view. However, 1916 stands out because it ignited a series of events afterwards – the rise of Sinn Féin, the 1918 election and the first Dáíl, the Tan War and Civil War. Collectively, these events can justly be called the Irish Revolution. However, it would be ridiculous to say a revolution can be caused by the executions of 16 individuals. 1798, 1867 and others  all had executions  and in their own way inspired other uprisings, but yet they did not lead to revolution. But why? It wasn’t that 1916 stood apart in terms of its egalitarian demands – “cherish all the children of the nation equally” and so on. It could be argued the Fenian Proclamation of 1867 was superior to the 1916 proclamation in terms of its social radicalism, demands for the end of the exploitation of labour, appeals to English workers and so on. The firm reality is that  1916 did not set off a revolution;  rather it was itself an event in a wider revolutionary period, in Ireland and Europe. 1916 could not have happened were it not for the Gaelic Revival which began as far back as the late 1800s. This led to a new-found pride in the...

Recently, Enda Kenny, our Taoiseach, shouted. Loud. Ly. He was, erm…exhorting us, the electorate, (people who can vote) to ensure that Fianna Fail don’t get into power after the next election. They’re the bad guys; you’ve heard the argument by now. Many. Times. Loud. Ly. Don’t do it! said Enda. That would be bad. His shouting. Loud. Ly reminds me of what all teachers are told when they’re training: “Don’t smile til Christmas.” Well Enda hasn’t forgotten that sage advice and now he uses it to run the country, or to win elections: are they the same thing? I don’t know. Do nurses win elections? Or engineers? Teachers do! There are many of them in government: Enda Kenny; Michael Martin; Michael Noonan and lots more. I recall a scene in Blackadder the Third. Edmund, butler to the Prince Regent, is disguised as the Prince Regent; the Prince Regent is dressed as Edmund; Baldrick can’t tell the difference now. Enter Stephen Fry who plays The Duke of Edinburgh. They discuss tactics; Edinburgh is assured of one thing at least – the only way to win a war is “Shout, shout and shout again!” It be may that Enda shouts Loud. Ly because of his teacher training all those years ago. Was he told way back when that you don’t smile til Christmas and shout every so often, Loud. Ly to scare the bejayzus out of them? And who is “them”? Enda seems to think that people fall for that shouting routine; it’s the words, Enda…the words and the speaker. Not the volume. Churchill didn’t shout; he just chose really great words. But Enda ain’t no Churchill I guess. Who in the Dail is? And isn’t that the real issue here? Isn’t this why shouting is...

You could win €2,000! Create a short video clip, audio clip, news article or poster on one of these themes: What are the hidden harms of alcohol use? 2. What are the effects of drug use? Age categories are: 12-14; 15-17; 18-21; 22-25 Deadline is March 31st, 2016. For details on how to enter, visit drugs.ie/awards. For information, email...

Two cities, One book: A Story of Ireland is a Hot Press initiative to mark the centenary of the 1916 Rising. Dublin and Belfast will partner in Dublin City Council’s Two Cities One Book Festival, based on the chosen book, Fallen by Lia Mills published by Penguin. To coincide with the Festival, and as a key part of the national commemorations, Hot Press and Dublin City libraries, in association with Libraries NI and with the support of the Ireland 2016 office, are planning a major all-Ireland writing competition. It will aim to uncover the best new young writing talent in the country while also drawing the attention of people all over Ireland to Fallen, to the themes in the book and to the Two Cities, One Book programme of events. Category 1 is reserved for secondary level pupils; there will be one male winner and one female winner. Each winner will be invited to to a two-week internship at Hot Press. Better hurry though, because the closing date is February 19, 2016. For more information please contact Louise or Sara on 01 2411500 or email Louise at louise@hotpress.ie or Sarah at...