Lord Mayor, Councillors, Deputies, Members of European Parliament, Officials, Distinguished guests, dear friends.
The 1916 Proclamation was a radical document, and it begins with words that were radical for its time: ‘Irishmen and Irishwomen’.
It recognised that the struggle for Irish freedom was shared by all of its people – men and women – and that political rights for Ireland must also mean equality before the law for all. This was a bold and revolutionary proclamation in 1916, and it shows the vision at the heart of that rebellion.
Irishmen and Irishwomen joined together during that great decade of change, and Irishmen and Irishwomen worked together during Easter Week to proclaim to the world that Ireland asserted her right to take her place among the nations of that world.
Unfortunately, in the years after the winning of Irish freedom, we did not always remember that it had been a shared endeavour. Oftentimes women were airbrushed out of our history, sometimes literally so. Elizabeth O’Farrell was just one of the many women who played a vital part in the GPO and around Dublin during Easter Week. She worked as a nurse and a courier, and delivered ammunition from the GPO to the garrison in the College of Surgeons by hiding it under her clothes.
There is a famous photograph of Elizabeth O’Farrell on that day, accompanying Pearse to surrender officially in Moore Street. It is famous because you can only see her feet, the rest of her was left out. She had been removed from Irish history. In the movie ‘Michael Collins’ her role is played by a man. History is rewritten all the time, but this rewriting was a particularly cruel betrayal of the very principles of the Rising. The airbrushing of women out of our history. The same happened to Rosie Hackett, union leader, organiser, printer nurse, prisoner, fighter and founding member of the Irish Citizens Army.
The opening of the Rosie Hackett Bridge today is a strong statement. It is a recognition that we for too long have forgotten our own history. For too long we have accepted a lopsided account of our past, and the Irishwomen who worked heroically with Irishmen to create a new future.
Rosanna Hackett was just one of many women who played a crucial part in our history. But by honouring her, we honour all those who have been unjustly forgotten.
Lord Mayor, I want to congratulate the architects for designing this very elegant structure, and the contractors for doing a great job on the construction.
I also want to acknowledge the work of Dublin City Council - which brought this project to fruition – along with the Railway Procurement Agency and the National Transport Authority.
I’m especially pleased that this vital Dublin project was financed through my own Department’s capital budget.
This is a unique bridge because it’s designed specifically for public transport, for cycling, and for walking through the city centre.
It carries the southbound Luas Cross City track. Many bus journeys will now be shorter, which benefits the new Dublin Bus cross-city network. Cyclists and pedestrians will also gain from this car-free link across the Liffey.
This bridge is a key component of the new Luas Cross City line. I’m pleased to confirm that this project is on time and within budget. Advance works are well underway and the tender documents for the main Luas infrastructure contract went to the bidders last month.
I expect the next set of contracts to be signed before the end of the year, and the main project works should start early in 2015. The aim is to have the system up and running in 2017.
Before I finish, I want to make one final point. Over the last three years my Department has provided almost €70 million in funding - through the NTA - to Dublin City Council. This includes the funding for the Rosie Hackett Bridge.
Projects funded also include grants to improve existing QBCs, bus priority measures, cycle and pedestrian schemes, the Dublin Bikes, Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) signs, and loads of other small projects. Together, these projects improve our transport systems and make Dublin a better place to live, work and do business.
Dublin is our capital city and Dublin simply will not work without good public transport.
However, funding is scarce and it must be prioritised. My Department’s budget is under severe pressure. A lot of areas are looking for extra resources, even though we are already running low on funds to maintain our existing road, bus and rail networks.
That’s why it’s so important that my Department’s funding must be supplemented by funds from Dublin City Council. It is not, and can not be, a substitute for local authority funding.
If we both do our part, we can ensure that Dublin’s transport facilities, and its walking and cycling networks, can improve and develop.
This as you know is an election week and elections are the greatest exercise in democracy.
Lord Mayor, the very naming of the Rosie Hackett Bridge was also a great exercise in democracy led by your council. The people chose the shortlist, and its elected representatives then voted on the winner.
Now whenever people cross this bridge they will be reminded of who Rosie Hackett was and what she did. Tourists and visitors to the city will Google her name, and discover the part she played in winning Irish freedom. They will hear about her courage, and her example. Curious children will read about her life, and be inspired to go off and read more about her, and the other men and women of that period.
By building a bridge, and naming it after Rosie Hackett, we have caused ourselves to overcome our narrow view of the past, and embrace a better vision of the kind of Ireland we all want to see. It connects us with a part of our history that we had lost, or ignored. It reminds us of the ideals and aspirations of the leaders of the revolutionary period, what we have achieved, and what we still need to do.
I am proud to join you in declaring the Rosie Hackett bridge formally open.