A senior Fianna Fail member hopes the House will today observe a brief period of silence in memory of all Irishmen who died in the first World War.
Mr Paschal Mooney tried unsuccessfully to have a short silent tribute paid yesterday. It would be appropriate to have it coincide with the Irish and British commemoration at Messines Ridge in Belgium, he suggested. For far too long, the unionists, a minority on the island, had monopolised the commemoration of the bravery of all Irishmen who had endured the terrible experiences of the Great War. "I believe that today we have actually reclaimed for the south of Ireland all of the gallantry and the heroics of that time."
The leader of the House, Mr Donie Cassidy, informed members that time would be made available today for short statements on the Great War. While stating that he did not want to be divisive, Mr Mooney complained that the leader had not responded to his specific suggestion of a silent gesture. Earlier in the Chamber, the Fine Gael leader in the House, Mr Maurice Manning, called for time to be set aside for the making of statements. To a great extent the 50,000 Irish first World War dead had been "airbrushed" out of our history, he said. Agreeing that there was a need to honour the huge number of Irishmen who had sacrificed their lives, Mr Joe Costello (Lab) described their deaths as a brutal tragedy. A great many of the Irish combatants had not fought for king or country, but for the right of small nations. The deputy leader of the House, Mr John Dardis (PD) said it was a mark of our maturity as a sovereign nation that our President could stand alongside the British monarch in Belgium to remember our fallen. The only unfortunate aspect was that the Irish Army had not been at the gate in Ypres last Tuesday evening, where the end of hostilities had been marked for the past 80 years.
Mr Edward Haughey, a nominee of the Taoiseach in the Upper House, said he wanted to be associated with the congratulations to the Irish people who had been responsible for the initiative in unveiling the peace monument in Belgium to the war dead. "In the spirit that prevails after the Belfast Agreement, the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh and the possible visit of her majesty the queen, perhaps the time is now right that we get an apology from the United Kingdom government for the treatment of the Irish people during the Famine," said Mr Haughey, who is the holder of an OBE. He asked that his views be conveyed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Mr Cassidy said he agreed with the sentiments and would have them passed on.