Speech by the Taoiseach, Mr. Brian Cowen, TD, at the Launch of The Dictionary of Irish Biography, St. Patrick's Hall, Dublin Castle, Wednesday, 18 November, 2009 at 6.30pm
A dhaoine uaisle.
Is mór an onóir dom a bheith i bhur dteannta tráthnóna chun an foclóir beathaisnéise faoi choimirce Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann a sheoladh. Sa chnuasach imleabhar seo, ceiliúraimid torthaí an togra daonnachta is mó agus is suntasaí in Éirinn riamh.
Déanaim comhghairdeachas leis an Acadamh, le hEagraítheoirí na n-imleabhar agus leis na saineolaithe a ghlac páirt sa togra. Ní raibh a leithéid de foilsiúchán ann riamh agus dá réir, is cloch mhíle i stair an léinn in Éirinn é. Cuireann sé in iúl dúinn go bhfuil bóthar ár staire breacaithe go fial le daoine cróga, misniúla éirimiúla a bhí tionchar mór acu ar gach gné den saol. Is comóradh cuí ar a saol - an sar-foclóir seo.
I am delighted to join you all here in St. Patrick's Hall to launch The Dictionary of Irish Biography.
This is a wonderful project of scholarship and a powerful statement of our Irish nationality. Its publication marks a significant milestone in charting the evolution of our identity as a people and a nation. The Dictionary spans the full range of our past from the time of St. Patrick to the turn of this new millennium. It is the fruit of years of research by many of our most distinguished historians.
At the outset, I want sincerely to thank the Royal Irish Academy, who sponsored the Dictionary, for this fantastic contribution to the history of our nation. The agreement of a publisher as distinguished as Cambridge University Press is testimony to its importance. The Dictionary will be the first point of reference for anyone, anywhere in the world, who is interested in Ireland's past and in the experience of the Irish people, both individually and collectively.
The Dictionary has been the largest humanities research project ever undertaken in Ireland. Some 700 scholars from Ireland and abroad have contributed to it and it is, I believe, the most significant Irish publication of the 21st century.
The result is suitably monumental - 9 volumes with 9014 entries, detailing 9700 lives, from the Huguenot refugee Jacques Abbadie to Zozimus, the Liberties - born balladeer.
The Dictionary, which is available online as well, is hugely comprehensive. It covers prominent men and women, born in Ireland, North and South and overseas, who made their mark on Ireland. It stretches from earliest times to 2002. It deals, in a very accessible way, with a whole variety of biographical subjects - artists and architects; journalists and broadcasters; actors and directors; musicians and composers; sports men and women; business people and trade unionists; doctors; scientists and engineers; religious figures; writers; politicians, public servants and philanthropists. Saints and sinners and more besides.
Many of the names will be familiar to us all - Eamon de Valera and Sean Lemass count among the longest entries - but we can learn a lot from this dictionary. It offers authoritative and entertaining accounts of numerous Irish lives, new perspectives, new light on old controversies. It will help to clear up doubts in people's minds and, on a lighter note, reveals in passing some interesting things about prominent people, like Luke Kelly's love of golf and Man United Captain Jackie Carey's love for the Irish language. In a sense, it's a kaleidoscope for viewing Irish history.
There are also names which have been rescued from oblivion - for example, Rev. Richard Smyth, whose early death was described as a calamity for the tenant right and temperance movements, his constituents, college and church but whom few people today have ever heard of.
Obviously, it is not possible to overcome the limitations of the historical record, but I welcome the particular efforts made to give accounts of the lives of significant women who deserve greater attention- including trade unionists such as Cissie Cahalan and Louie Bennett.
All humanity is here - harmless eccentrics like Bang Bang, who fired imaginary bullets on the streets of Dublin and vicious gangsters like Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll, who fired real ones on the streets of New York. And Thady Quill, subject of a ballad which was a great favourite of Jack Lynch's.
In the main, of course, this is about people who made a difference, for the better, to Ireland. This is a very good time to be reminded of our rich heritage and of the significant achievements of many people of Irish descent based on their ingenuity, their creativity and capacity for hard work. If we think about what some of the people recorded in the Dictionary achieved and the challenges they faced, we can draw renewed strength and inspiration as we face the challenges of our time. And we can feel proud - and fortunate - to hail from the same country as so many people of note.
Publication of the Dictionary is a landmark event in Irish scholarship. There are a number of short biographical dictionaries, some useful, some less so. But apart from these, we have had up to now to rely quite a lot on the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and its predecessor, for information on the lives of Irish men and women and those who had significant Irish careers. Now we have our own national biography.
The Dictionary will be the biographical reference work for Ireland. It will give a major boost to Irish studies around the world. It will be consulted by teachers, scholars, journalists, broadcasters, writers, pub quiz masters and the general reader - everybody interested in this country and the people who shaped it - everybody motivated by the same spirit of curiosity and inquiry that informs the RIA itself. It should find a place on the shelves of educational, cultural and recreational institutions around the country - and unlike many publications that are placed on shelves, this is one that is guaranteed to be taken down and used.
This is a good opportunity also to acknowledge the leading role of the Royal Irish Academy in the intellectual life of Ireland. Since its foundation in 1785, the Academy, an all - Ireland body, has served as a well of inspiration for the sciences and the arts. Its membership includes many of Ireland's most successful researchers, making it a real national resource as we build our Smart Economy.
The RIA is an old and august body which has worked hard to ensure that its work has great contemporary relevance and considerable popular appeal. For this I would like to acknowledge its President Nicholas Canny, the Council and, of course, the Academy staff.
The need for a comprehensive and scholarly dictionary of Irish lives has been acknowledged for a long time - as long as fifty years ago some feasibility work was undertaken with the support of the then Minister for Education, Sean Moylan.
A more serious commitment emerged in the 1980s through the Academy's role and in particular the work of the late Professor John Maurice Kelly; Dr. Maurice Craig; Dr. Garret FitzGerald and Professor Gordon Herries Davies.
The crucial breakthrough was the Academy's decision to move the project to a more intensive phase early in the 1990s. With the presentation of a detailed plan for how such an enormous task could be undertaken, the Government agreed to make a significant annual grant.
A project such as this could not have been completed without real organisational and academic leadership. The Managing Editor of the Dictionary, James McGuire, is already widely acknowledged for his role in reinvigorating "Irish Historical Studies" as the foremost Journal of Irish history, during his time as co-editor and more recently the publishing activity of the Irish Manuscripts Commission as its Chairman. It is very clear that without James McGuire it would not have been possible to complete this project. Every page of the Dictionary bears the mark of his careful attention, and his organisational ability and diplomatic skills have been critical in managing what was an enormous project and bringing it to a successful conclusion.
He has been very ably assisted by James Quinn, Executive Editor of the Dictionary, and also the other members of the editorial board. I would of course like to thank and congratulate the small permanent staff of the Dictionary for their work.
The story of Ireland and the Irish will continue to evolve. A combination of mortality and new research will require further biographies to be written. It is welcome that the Academy will be continuing the Dictionary of Irish Biography Project, adding supplementary material to the internet site as well as publishing supplementary volumes.
This is a monumental work of scholarship. It helps to define us and tell the story of our people. I am certain that this seminal work will be consulted for generations to come. On behalf of the Government, I want to acknowledge the work of everybody associated with giving us our very own dictionary of biography.
This has been a shared labour of love for very many people and I know that an enormous amount of work went into it. The Dictionary of Irish Biography is worthy of the effort and a great credit to you all.
Thank you very much.
ENDS.