What is a Republic?

1916 is not merely a nationalist commemoration but a republican one also. The signatories of the 1916 proclamation committed themselves not merely to Irish national sovereignty but to a particular tradition of sovereignty – a republican tradition. Any commemoration of 1916 therefore demands a commitment to a better understanding of what people have tried to communicate by words such as “republic” and “republican” and the extent to which these international and historical invocations can claim meaningful continuity and contemporary relevance. The conference intends to debate the Irish republican proclamation and heritage in a larger international and historical context, investigating the range of aspirations – political, civic, aesthetic, and other - implied by republican definitions. The extent to which these aspirations are misapplied, traduced and betrayed as well as renewed, extended and expanded will form a critical commentary on the experience of 1916 commemoration. Professor Philip Petitt, Professor of Politics and Human Values at Princeton University and one of the leading international theorists of republicanism, will be a keynote contributor.

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