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Patrick Pearse and the 1916 Rising: Discerning the Spirit

ANY ASSESSMENT of history is an act of interpretation. Interpretation is not an easy task. If we are to do it justice it not only requires diligent study of all the sources but also fair-mindedness, imagination and empathy. To use the jargon, historical interpretation is hermeneutic. It requires us to put ourselves in the shoes of the one we seek to understand. Interpretation is also self-involving: we bring who we are to the conversation. My interest in the Easter Rising has focused primarily on one person: Patrick Pearse. I got to know Pearse through long hours spent in Oxford’s Bodleian Library during the summer of 1996 as I studied for my BA in theology. To begin with, I approached Pearse’s story as a sub-topic of Irish Catholic theology and church history.

* Full article available in printed copies.

willOlhausen|William Olhausen|william-olhausen

William Olhausen

is rector of Killiney Ballybrack (Dublin), national coordinator for CME, hon sec of the Dublin and Glendalough diocesan councils, and a member of the standing committee to the General Synod.