Monday, 21 January
2008
The Turning of the
Sovereign Seal
Every year on January 21 at 12 noon a
significant though little known Irish ritual is performed in the Mansion House
Dublin by a member of the Maguire clan.
This year William McGuire will be
accompanied by Kathy Sinnott, MEP for Ireland South and by Laoise Kelly, the
harper who organised the gathering of the harpers last September for
Tara. Kathy Sinnott said “This is a significant year for Irish
Heritage and sovereignty. Will we see the final destruction of our heritage in
the Tara Skryne Valley to make way
for a toll road? Will we see the end of Irish sovereignty with the acceptance of
the EU Constitutional “Lisbon” Treaty to make way for the
new European Union? Or will an appreciation of Irish sovereignty and heritage
come to their rescue even at this late
stage?"
William Maguire of Askeaton Co Limerick
will perform this duty for the fortieth time, a duty carried out originally by
his grandfather Tom McGuire and later by his father. Tom McGuire was
owner of Vaughan's Hotel in Parnell
Square, Dublin which was the secret
headquarters of the first Dail Eireann and where its sovereignty was established
in 1919.
The Irish
harp, the reverse side of the sovereign Seal is the Brian Boru Harp also
referred to as the Psaltery or musical instrument for accompanying the
Psalms. The harp is a symbol dense with meaning. In
form it incorporates the ships compass, the horizon, the moon, the triangle and
parallels of geometry and as such is an ancient compendium of knowledge. The
Romans followed the harp in their design of Rome. It importance in
Ireland for ceremonial and later official use makes it, as
a symbol, key to Irish Celtic civilisation and history.
The
Sovereign seal of Dail Eireann is the symbol of the power of the Irish people
invested in the Oireachtas. It has 12 strings which makes reference to a Judeao
Christian ordering of society. The twelve apostles, the twelve
tribes of Israel, twelve months of the year, twelve inches in a foot, twelve in
a dozen etc.
Other Irish
Harp symbols vary in the number of strings as well as in the background colour
and braiding in the official emblems in line with their origins and purpose. The
GAA's 14 stringed harp on our money, nine strings on our passports. In court our
judges sit under a 13 string harp which reference to the Trinity, 1 in 3, ties
their work to the Irish Constitution For the same reason
official Dail documents use the 13 string harp. Historically the
Sovereign seal of the Irish Republican Brotherhood had 6 strings while that of
the Fenian Brotherhood had 5.
It is
a strange anomaly of Irish history that the Seanad sit with their back to the
sovereign Seal which is on the back of their chairs. This happened because
members of the house initially sat facing symbols of the British Crown. This
practise is something that William McGuire would like to see changed.
The McGuires have been deeply involved in
some of the most critical episodes of Irish history. A member of the family
accompanied the Earls O’Neill and O’Donnell to Rome, another Sam Maguire served
Michael Collins as intelligence officer and later was important in the GAA both
on the field and in its administration. He is considered by many its founding
father and always wore the Sovereign seal on his jersey. The Sam
Maguire Cup for the winners of the All Ireland Senior Football Champions is
named after him.
Mrs. Sinnott concluded “The turning of
the sovereign seal of Dail Eireann is an important reminder of the meaning,
value and of the price of Irish democracy. And I congratulate Billy Maguire on
his faithfulness to the sovereign seal."
For further information, questions or comments, please
contact Kathy on:
Mobile: +353 87 2786 552
Brussels office: +32 228
47692
Cork office: +353 21 4888
793
-ENDS-
