Honouring Redmond

Sir, – Stephen Collins ("Bruton a political exception in speaking his mind", Opinion & Analysis, August 16th) gets it wrong when he asserts that John Bruton is attuned to continental thinking on the futility of war ("John Bruton's argument about Home Rule and 1916 deserves serious consideration", August 16th).

Mr Bruton’s hero, John Redmond, supported Britain’s declaration of war on Germany in 1914 and used his influence as leader of Irish nationalism to encourage Irish males to join in a conflict that led to millions of deaths and the disastrous and needless destruction of Germany. The creed that John Bruton would have us celebrate is the opposite of non-violent.

I believe that our Government should be mindful of our origins as an independent State, and of our present position in the EU, in commemorating 1914. We should take care to rise above the war propaganda of that time.

John Redmond and many of his close supporters were active propagandists in the British interest in 1914 and as such they helped to foment a poisonous and irrational anti-German prejudice.

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A political creed based on such a legacy is inconsistent with a reflective European commemoration of the first World War. – Yours, etc,

DAVE ALVEY,

Corrig Road,

Dalkey,

Co Dublin.

Sir, – Prof Ronan Fanning ("Apparent achievement of home rule was an illusion", Opinion & Analysis, August 16th) claims that "the constitutional nationalists [were] so resoundingly defeated by the republican revolutionaries".

It is certainly true that, having channelled the aspirations of constitutional nationalists for decades, the Irish Parliamentary Party had collapsed by 1918. However it was not defeated by republican revolutionaries.

The heirs of the Rising, seeking to capitalise on popular disapproval of the executions and opposition to conscription, proceeded like a typical constitutional party – a couple of byelection wins followed by sweeping success in the 1918 general elections.

Sinn Féin achieved this by persuading many constitutional nationalists to transfer their support from the IPP. Thus, despite the rhetoric, Sinn Féin ceased to be revolutionaries and became the leading vehicle for constitutional nationalism. The new order it created was a conditional one and what we call the War of Independence was the defence of its institutions by the army authorised by its parliament, as in any democratic state. When later compromises had to be made, the moderates prevailed over the revolutionaries, and these, unable to accept the decisions of Dáil Éireann, withdrew into the wilderness.

Redmond was defeated by unionist intransigence and the British hypocrisy identified by Prof Fanning. Why not honour him as we do Parnell – brought down by Ascendancy intransigence and Irish hypocrisy! – Yours, etc,

MICHAEL DRURY,

Avenue Louise,

Brussels.