Madam, - Kevin Myers (An Irishman's Diary, November 21st) should not be too surprised at the bitter, anglophobic tone of the letters from Tom Cooper and Maurice Earls (November 18th). For over 80 years successive governments have seen to it that our children have been indoctrinated to think ill of the English. Historical truth was thrown out of the window and rancid nationalism took its place. So we have an anglophobic national anthem and the IRFU encourages an anti-English dirge to be played in Lansdowne Road, The Fields of Athenry.
As for 1916, the Chief of Staff of the Irish Volunteers, Eoin MacNeill, was unaware of a secret Military Council within the IRB led mainly by Tom Clarke. When the Aude was scuttled in 1916 with German arms on board, he countermanded the orders of the Council for a rising to take place as he saw it would end up as a suicide mission.
He was ignored - and 567 people died in the violence that followed, including 398 civilians. Not only did the IRB ignore MacNeill, the constitution of the IRB forbade a rebellion if the majority of the Irish people did not support it. The vast majority did not.
In the violence that ensued in the War of Independence and the Civil War, some 6,000 people lost their lives. For what, as Mr Myers asks? As the Oxford University historian Stephen Howe has pointed out, "The view has gained ground in more recent historical reassessment that by 1914 they [the Irish Parliamentary party\] had within their grasp at least as much as was to be achieved, after so much bloodshed, in 1921".
But maybe Kevin Myers can take some comfort in the sort of leadership we are now getting. Mr Brian Cowen has just said something no other Fianna Fáil Minister would dare utter, namely, "Great progress has been made in embracing 'all of our rich and varied heritage', including Irishmen who joined the British Army prior to independence thinking they were fighting for small nations". Also, our President makes it a priority to attend the Armistice Day memorial service in St Patrick's Cathedral every year.
Would that our Taoiseach and Tánaiste accompany her, but that day might yet come quite soon as we slowly move on from the old, narrow nationalism. - Yours, etc.,
JOHN ROCHFORT, Earl's Court, Waterford.