Madam, - "Yes, Sir, I will pray for all brave men who do their duty according to their lights."
The kindly consideration thus expressed by James Connolly (the first signatory of the 1916 Proclamation) for the soldiers who were to execute him is relevant today when discussing the vexed question of Irishmen in British uniforms.
In the Republic, a significant but largely ignored element of the problem concerns those Anglo-Irish who enjoy a historic, family-nurtured tradition of service in the British armed forces. They need understanding.
How can they be cherished equally (in accordance with the resolve expressed in the Proclamation), unless the continuation of that tradition is respected - and not questioned as if it were in some way unIrish and unpatriotic?
- Yours, etc,
JAMES McGEEVER, Dublin Road, Kingscourt, Co Cavan.