Ireland since 1800: In what way did the Lemass government represent a new phase of political and economic thought?

Résumé du document

Lemass was, like de Valera, a 1916 veteran, but he was seventeen years younger, and in many ways seemed to belong to a different generation. An Irish patriot as early as the age of 16, Lemass became a freedom fighter in the streets of Dublin, engaging the Easter Rising and other hostilities and landing in jail again and again. His brother Noel died as a revolutionary. After the establishment of the Irish Free State, he joined Eamon de Valera and the other holdouts, becoming a member of the headquarters staff of the Irish Republican Army in 1922 and sharing in the founding of the new party, Fianna Fail, in 1926. When de Valera became president in 1959, Lemass inherited the office of Prime Minister. To succeed a leader of the stature of de Valera was a daunting challenge. Many felt that Fianna Fail could not flourish without the 'Chief'. But when Seàn Lemass became Taoiseach, he had been a TD for over thirty years, and a minister for more than twenty. He knew what a government was about and had a clear idea about what he wanted it to do: to bring the independent Ireland he has helped to liberate into a fuller recognition of the responsibilities and opportunities of that independence in the circumstances of the modern world. Lemass knew that his accession to power marked a new departure in Irish politics. After de Valera things would never be the same, nor would Lemass wish it otherwise. In 1959, Lemass was in position to set about making major changes.

Extraits

[...] Under de Valera government, resources devoted too education and especially higher education were very low. Lemass was the first Taioseach to take education seriously. During my research, I did not manage to find a specific sentence from Lemass or from one of his ministers which would describe their education policy. However, on the website on which Parliament Debates are available for consultation[26], I found that during the Lemass government, the word education has been used 2935 times during the Debates. [...]

[...] Never before had the head of government in Independent Ireland had official talks with his northern counterpart on Irish soil. The only remotely comparable occasions were Craig's meeting with de Valera in 1921. It was easy too to contrast the speed with which Lemass swing into action on this issue with the stasis of his predecessors, and even to assume that the differences in tactics signified a difference also in strategy: to attract Northern Ireland, not to coerce it[23]. Even if de Valera too had made attempts to open up channels of communication with the political representatives of Northern Ireland[24]. [...]

[...] I found that he also was of the opinion that action such as I had in mind would be practicable and beneficial. [ . ] We have agreed that the scope for practical co-operation is extensive and should be further examined. As the House is aware, arrangements for this examination in respect of matters of trade and tourism were later considered between the Ministers concerned and further discussions at specialist and official levels are now being arranged. I have urged that these meetings should not be given a greater significance than they warrant. [...]

[...] He obtained spectacular results. It can be argued that economic progress and political pragmatism represent the new thought of Lemass government. The official mind set of traditional Ireland crumbled with remarkable rapidity during his tenure in office. Lemass's contribution to Ireland was that he made possible a whole set of new directions. Lemass either originated, or presided over, a number of initiatives, in the fields of economy, Northern Ireland, and Anglo-Irish relationship. Besides, under Lemass the nation took a more outward looking approach. [...]

[...] First, there were changes in the political landscape which were striking. In the matter of forming an administration, he was conscious of the need to establish a generational change. According to Farrell, he was certainly determined not to allow himself to follow de Valera's example and to be trapped by the past[4] Only three survivors of de Valera's first administration (MacEntee, Ryan and Aiken) found places in Lemass's first government. And after 1965 the only survivor of the original team, apart from Lemass himself, was Frank Aiken, the Minister for External Affairs[5]. [...]