Sir - I refer to your editorial "Men of the Somme", dated July 6th. Like many Irish, I receive The Irish Times at second or third hand, as it passes among the community here in Wellington. As a result, I see the copy several weeks behind time, but I was both moved and stirred by your editorial.
A sad thing about the battle was that the opening engagements contrived to coincide with the marching season, and doubtless this has something to do with sustaining memories North of the Border. I was born and raised in north Belfast, to a Protestant family, and I was well aware of the Somme as it affected my family through loss of a brother and an uncle. Not until later years did I become aware that it was a holocaust which affected all society in Ireland. I therefore applaud your editorial, but wonder who will have taken time to read it.
Not long ago, our eldest child finished high school and left New Zealand for a year in Ireland with grandparents. During that year, she experienced the death of one of her grandfathers, himself a hero of a later war, and who was proud to say that he had never voted for a winning politician!
On her return, following a year of rich experiences, and many new friends, she startled us one evening by asking: "What am I?" You know, it had not occurred to her parents to tell her about religion! To me, education is the beginning of hope! - Yours, etc,
Dept. Head of Geology, University of Wellington, New Zealand.