Aengus Ó Snodaigh launches bill to establish new "Republic Day" national holiday

Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh today published the Public Holidays (Lá Na Poblachta) Bill 2013 which seeks to establish a new national holiday to mark the sacrifice of men and women who gave their lives in pursuit of an independent Irish Republic.

The holiday would be on April 24, the anniversary of the reading of the proclamation of Ireland outside the GPO by Padraig Pearse in 1916, and would involve events in each county to raise awareness and understanding of the ideals contained in the key revolutionary documents and events leading to the declaration of the Irish Republic at the GPO on Monday 24th April 1916.

Speaking as he published the bill at Leinster House today Deputy Ó Snodaigh said;

"Many nations celebrate the birth of their nation be it the date of a major battle that won independence from a colonial force or a date when their nation was proclaimed to the world.

"Many nations who have yet to win their independence also have national holidays to mark a date when their nation was declared.

"Ireland should be no different. And while we have yet to secure a fully independent republic we should not allow that to stop us from celebrating the proclamation of our nation and remembering all those who died in pursuit of our independence.

"Ireland currently has nine annual bank holidays. The European average is eleven. So this bill would bring us closer to the EU average as was called for by Rúairí Quinn in 2006.

"The bill calls for events in every county in Ireland annually not only to celebrate our history but also to raise awareness and understanding of the ideals contained in the key revolutionary documents and events leading to the declaration of the Irish Republic at the GPO on Monday 24th April 1916.

"It is vitally important, particularly in the run up to the centenary of the rising, that we put in place measures to ensure that future generations are aware of and fully understand the ideals of those who fought for our Irish Republic. I hope the other parties will support this bill."