Misunderstandings in Irish history examined
Law and history are “sibling disciplines”, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan has told the first of the 2026 Hardiman lecture series at the Supreme Court (17 June).
The traits of a great historian, a great lawyer and “a great judge, such as Judge Hardiman was”, are, Mr Justice Hogan elaborated, “meticulous attention to detail, looking at the actual text and not the conventional wisdom”.
The Supreme Court judge was speaking after Professor Patrick Geoghegan’s lecture, ‘Myths and Misunderstandings in Modern Irish History’.
Beginning with Henry Grattan’s April 1782 speech declaring Irish legislative independence, Prof Geoghegan, of the TCD Department of History, outlined a series of misconceptions that had become myths, and why this was so.
The speech, on foot of which Grattan was awarded £50,000, “is considered one of the finest speeches in modern Irish history”.
The only problem with the speech and its famous lines about “the spirit of Swift, the spirit of Molyneaux”, Prof Geoghegan said, “is that Grattan never said them”.
For a variety of reasons, including the historical context of pre-Revolution France and Grattan’s well-known “habit of rewriting and reinventing his speeches”, Geoghegan said, “in my mind, there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that this was a speech that he rewrote and reimagined completely”.
Of the John F Taylor oration in Ulysses, Prof Geoghegan explained the reasons behind his belief that “the finest piece of oratory that we have described in Ulysses is a speech that James Joyce himself wrote based on a debate that he did not attend based on a pamphlet that got crucial details wrong”.
The TCD academic discussed the line, "Cherishing all the children of the nation equally", from the 1916 Proclamation, which has been repeatedly misread, particularly by politicians, as referring literally to children, when it meant all Irish people, regardless of religion or politics.
He also cited Éamon De Valera’s speech from 17 March 1943, which, while immortalised as containing a reference to "comely maidens dancing at the crossroads", contains neither phrase.
“‘Comely maidens’”, Geoghegan explained, “was actually in the original draft of this text, but then when he delivered it for a broadcast he changed ‘comely’ to ‘happy’. The dancing at the crossroads was never there”.
However, he added: “The truth is that even though ‘comely’ isn't used and dancing at the crossroads isn’t used, people are essentially correct in their interpretation of what kind of ideology was being presented in that St. Patrick's Day speech”.
'We prefer the myths'
In his discussion of why misconceptions and myths become accepted, Prof Geoghegan said: “I think that perhaps the trouble with myths and misunderstandings in modern Irish history is that we prefer the myths”.
“It seems that when something becomes ingrained in the popular consciousness, it is impossible to shake off,” he added.
However, “as the holders of facts and upholders of the truth, we have to correct those myths and misinterpretations, even if it means – especially if it means – presenting a more nuanced and more complicated version of Irish history.
“And I think that is very true to the spirit and the legacy of Judge Hardiman, our friend and colleague, who we are honouring here today, and I think it's a responsibility on all of us”.