President Connolly says ‘minds needed decolonising as well as land and law’
By Pol Allingham, Press Association
President Catherine Connolly has told a Leeds community centre that the decolonisation of Ireland needed to happen in minds, not just “land and law”.
The Galway politician addressed Leeds Irish Centre on the final day of her three-day official trip to England, which also saw her hold engagements in London.
She told members of the Irish community in the West Yorkshire city that decolonisation included “reclaiming confidence in our culture, our language, our identity” after “centuries of being told that what was Irish was lesser”.
It followed Ms Connolly meeting students at the University of Leeds who are involved in the Irish Dance Society and Gaelic football team.
Her England visit came as her sister was detained by Israel on a flotilla, according to organisers.
Dr Margaret Connolly is said to be among at least 12 Irish citizens onboard and hundreds more participants from other countries have also been detained.
Ireland’s president told the community centre about republican activist Michael Davitt, who came to England aged four-and-a-half in the 1850s after his family were evicted from their cottage in Co Mayo.
Ms Connolly said: “That experience of eviction, along with his subsequent life and work in Victorian England, left an indelible mark on Davitt – including losing his arm when he was 11 years old in a factory.
“Leading him to become a political activist that literally changed the landscape and the mindscape in Ireland, and we’re all deeply indebted to that man.”
She said: “The decolonisation of Ireland was not just about land and law, it was about the decolonisation of our minds as well.”
Ms Connolly praised the diaspora’s contribution to keeping Irish music and culture “alive” when it was “undervalued at home”.
