Commemorative Events Dail Éireann — 2026-02-25 ============================================================ Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh. I am very pleased I have temporary responsibility for the issue of commemorations in the Department of culture. I agree with the Deputy that it is important that we should celebrate the great rescue by the Catalpa and how it carried out the rescue of the six military Fenians. The 150th anniversary of that important event is approaching in April this year and I commend the Deputy for raising this issue in the House this morning. Obviously, the State gets involved in many official commemorations. Aside from that, it is important that we recognise as a community and as elected representatives in this House that we also have a responsibility and an ability to celebrate great historical events. The Department, in which I am not the Minister, has done a very good job of respectfully commemorating important events that happened 100, 150 and 200 years ago. It is important we continue in respect of that. The Deputy will be aware that a commemorations advisory committee was established in May 2025 under the chairmanship of Bryan Dobson, the distinguished former broadcaster. It includes individuals from across the board in academia and politics. I am informed, and pleased to say, that the anniversary of the Catalpa rescue has been brought to their attention. I am asked to say that the committee agreed that a State commemoration to mark the event would not be possible at this stage because of the proximity of the anniversary, which, as I said, takes place two months from now. It is beneficial that the committee is aware of the event and that the Deputy has raised it. Obviously, John Devoy played an essential part in the Catalpa rescue. In my capacity as the Minister for justice, individuals have come to me in respect of the rescue by the Catalpa of the Fenians out in Perth. It is an important issue that we are discussing here today. I had the privilege many years ago to be in Fremantle Prison in Perth. It is a long way away and a lonely place to be if you are an Irish person, particularly back in the middle of the 19th century. It was a fantastic rescue. It is an essential part of the history of the Irish struggle for independence and it is important that we remember it. The Deputy will be aware that when it comes to official State commemorations, not every individual event can become an official State commemoration. This does not mean that we do not celebrate other important events and discuss them in the House. As I said, we have commemorated very many significant events professionally and, I think, sensibly here. When we look at what is ahead of us, a number of other important significant events are going to occur in the next number of years. Last year we celebrated the 250th anniversary of the birth of Daniel O'Connell and it was done very well. Some outstanding documentaries were made in respect of it. Ruán Magan made an outstanding documentary in respect of Daniel O'Connell's life. The important thing is that we are not just looking to the past but that we are educating Irish people and, indeed, the world about the great story of the Irish struggle for independence. It is a magnificent struggle that we should seek to promote to the world. When we think of other important events, there will be a significant celebration in respect of Catholic emancipation. This was an issue that deserves to be recognised. It liberated the overwhelming majority of Irish people from discrimination and unfair treatment. I hear what Deputy Ó Snodaigh has said and I welcome that he raised this issue today. The Department, of which I am not a Minister, does not have official plans to commemorate the Catalpa but we can certainly celebrate it. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-25/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:41+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-02-25