Madam, – I was saddened to read a letter from the 1916-1921 Club (Nora Comiskey, April 23rd) proclaiming a unanimous vote of protest at the forthcoming state visit of Queen Elizabeth to the Republic of Ireland. I wonder how the relatives of Arthur Griffith and Kevin O’Higgins might have voted given their ancestors’ interest in the Austria-Hungarian solution – but that’s beside my point.
Like so many people in this country, I too had relatives who were decorated veterans of the aforementioned conflict – on all sides! Relatives who eschewed preferment at the subsequent foundation of the State. Relatives whom I believe would be proud of the achievements of this little country in taking her place among the nations of the earth. Proud of the contribution our peoples have made, and continue to make among those nations – including the United Kingdom.
I am reminded of the words of Sir Isaac Newton: “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” I feel certain that the members of the 1916-1921 Club consider their progenitors “giants of this Republic”, so I entreat them to consider turning about on that vantage point and join the rest of us in looking to the future. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Two things come to mind when I read Nora Comiskey’s letter. First, if even a tiny fraction of the relatives that claimed to have taken part in the 1916- 1921 fighting actually had, they’d have beaten the British in the first week. Second, it was a 100 years ago and much more recently Irish people have committed atrocities in the North and in England, killing thousands. Many were innocent civilians but we don’t constantly hear the British bleat on about it. It’s time to move on, and not to be constantly stuck in the “look what they did to us” frame of mind. We’re a modern, albeit broke nation and it’s time to grow up and have an adult relationship with our closest neighbour. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – One cannot read Nora Comiskey’s letter (April 23rd) without sympathising with much of what she says. Yet is it not a rather one-sided view? The events of Bloody Sunday at Croke Park did not come out of a clear, blue sky, but were triggered by IRA assassinations earlier in the day. While in no way justifying the killing of innocent civilians at a sporting event, it helps us to understand how it happened during what, Republicans would have contended, was a war. A war which, according to some, is not yet over.
I do agree that Queen Elizabeth should steer well clear of the Garden of Remembrance. She cannot be expected to understand the resonances it carries. Her role as monarch involves staying well out of politics, so any apology, if it is deemed appropriate and timely, should come from the British government.
Should there be an apology, though, for trying to defeat insurgency and keep the realm intact, for the perceived good of all citizens? Only with the passing of time (and the victory going their way) have the insurgents become freedom fighters, patriots and heroes. We cannot view the events of the past objectively through the eyes and with the sensibilities of the present. – Yours, etc,