Lycia Trouton and Prof. Rev. James Haire, Gallery 1 opening, 2004.
Please listen to the speech above for more information (4:24).
Video & edit by J. Zutt
Transcription of a Speech by Rev. Prof. James Haire
Launch of
The Linen Memorial in Canberra, ACT (Australian Capital Territory), Australia, 2004.
"Linen is at the heart of Northern Irish life. It was the persecuted Huguenots who brought the production of linen from France to Ireland. The production of linen has formed a large source of the economy, both Catholics and Protestants, for 300 years.
Linen is a poignant part of Northern Irish life. It came from a persecuted people who sought their life in Northern Ireland, and yet it became part of the hopes and the suffering of Northern Ireland's people…. The most expensive linen in the world was produced in Ireland. Poor quality of linen was what was also used by the poorest of Irish families and at times of birth and at times of dead, linen was always there. Linen has become a part of Ireland's hopes and Ireland's sufferings.
The Linen Handkerchief was a sign of "going away." John Kennedy [quoting Joyce] called the Atlantic Ocean a "Bowl of Bitter Tears" …. For so many of the Irish crossed the ocean to the United States and to Canada. They sent money back but they never returned…So The Atlantic was a 'Bowl of Bitter Tears'… that was also so for New Zealand or other places where the N. Irish went.
So there is no greater way to express what has happened in the last 30 years as in Irish dance and the symbols of linen…
For linen was Northern Ireland's life blood and also of its suffering….
And The Names .. the Protestant and Catholic names on these squares of Irish cloth are a symbol of life blood and also of the immense pain of the Irish experience.
I also think that the Irish brought to [their adopted countries] - more than anything else - was a love of politics. The reason for their engagement in politics was that they did not, ever again, want to suffer under other people's hands…. They wanted to be a part of the politics and the life of the community…
And it was painful, but in this country they succeeded with positive outcomes that came from participation in political life… to overcome the dreaded fear of the past…
I can think of no stronger or better way to express the experience of the last 30 years…than in linen."
Thank you to Prof. Rev. James Haire, Belfast-Canberra.
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