Madam, – The recent letter from the President of the 1916-1921 Club, Nora Comiskey (April 23rd) outlining her opposition to the upcoming visit of her majesty Queen Elizabeth requires clarification on a number of major points.
Her assertion regarding the illegitimacy of British rule in Ireland in the period 1918-1921 is incorrect. Sinn Féin decided not to attend parliament in Westminster after the 1918 election but rather set up an illegal parliament, the first Dáil, which sat in the Mansion House on January 19th, 1919.
This was the same day that three policemen were murdered by an IRA group under Sean Treacy at Soloheadbeg in Tipperary. Subsequent actions on both sides throughout the War of Independence were both brutal and sad.
The main targets of IRA gunmen were Irish policemen and no mention is made in Ms Comiskey’s assertions regarding the ethnic cleansing, to use a modern term, of southern Protestants and massacres of Protestants at places such as Dunmanway. It was only through the work of the late historian Peter Harte and Senator Eoghan Harris, that this example of brutally came to light.
Ms Comiskey and the body she represents should realise that no side emerged without blood on their hands and I do not believe that modern leaders or heads of states should apologise for actions for which they had no responsibility.
In relation to Bloody Sunday, the IRA again in cold blood, murdered 14 British officers. This action was wrong as were the subsequent actions of the auxiliaries at Croke Park. It is to the lasting credit of the GAA that it is welcoming Queen Elizabeth to its headquarters. The GAA has emerged in this modern republic as a force for good and welcome all creeds to participate in its organisation.
Ms Comiskey’s belief that her majesty is not welcome as she is head of the armed forces is also, I feel, incorrect. Queen Elizabeth is head of state of part of this island that wishes to and remains part of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. This right is enshrined in the Belfast Agreement, of which the overwhelming majority of this island approved. The wedding of her grandson, Prince William, will see an honour guard of the Irish Guards, led by a west of Ireland officer, and is part of the maturing of relations between our two countries; I look forward to welcoming her majesty to Ireland next month. – Yours, etc,