As the commemorations loom, the rhetoric returns: Lia Mills’s Fallen and the Decade of Centenaries

“As the commemorations loom, the rhetoric returns” is a quote from a keynote speech Lia Mills delivered in 2017. Initially designed to exclusively focus on Mills’s novel Fallen, the speech ultimately encompassed a broader discussion of the cultural memory surrounding the Easter Rising –the 1916 insurrection aimed at freeing Ireland from British rule – and of the initiatives funded by the Republic of Ireland within the framework of the Decade of Centenaries. This comprehensive programme commemorated events pivotal to the establishment of the Irish State and Northern Ireland a century ago, spanning from WWI to the Civil War, and faced criticism for oversimplifying historical narratives, reinforcing specific origin myths, and notions of national adherence. In her speech, Mills raised questions about the narration of these key events, noting that Fallen, set against the backdrop of the Easter Rising, avoids a nostalgic portrayal of the rebellion. The protagonist, Katy, grapples with the challenges of accessing higher education as a woman and the grief of losing her twin brother during the Great War, just as Dublin was shaken by the Easter Rising. Mills, as I will demonstrate, portrays in her novel a form of patriotism distinct from that celebrated by the Grand Narrative of the Nation, centred on self-sacrifice and military heroism. Concurrently, Fallen reinterprets the Easter Rising from a domestic, feminine viewpoint, highlighting past injustices often overlooked in official ceremonies, including those associated with the Decade. Therefore, beyond scrutinizing the novel’s alternative reading of the Easter Rising and its capacity to stimulate reader reflection on the relationship between remembrance and narration, this paper examines the use of Fallen in Decade initiatives. It particularly emphasizes how the attempt to contribute to the reconciliation process between the two Irelands through literature has resulted in underutilising Fallen’s potential to avoid perpetuating linear narratives of the rebellion.