Sir, – While Robert Ballagh is entitled to his opinion that there should be a sharp division between the commemorations of the War of Independence and the first World War (Home News, October 15th), it seems odd that he does so by constant reference to “Tom Barry and his comrades”.
As Tom Barry himself freely admitted in his memoirs, he served in the first World War in Mesopotamia on the British side. Indeed, he points towards the military training acquired there as being vital in both the drilling of the West Cork Flying Column and in the column’s great success during the Anglo-Irish war.
Barry fought bravely in both wars but in the history of nationalist Ireland, the first was bypassed by historical events while the second led to the foundation of the State. Ultimate success is usually beyond the power of individuals in history, as Barry himself was to find in his third war, the doomed attempt to overturn the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
Can we not find it in ourselves, a century on, to commemorate the bravery of all the soldiers, official and unofficial, the winners and the losers during this turbulent period of Irish history? – Yours, etc,