Sir, - Your second leader of July 6th on the Battle of the Somme, during the first World War, contained the following: "President Robinson and the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, have led the way in breaking the taboo by explicitly acknowledging the role of Irish men and women in the British forces during two World wars, instead of adopting the formula of commemorating all who died in conflict of whatever kind."
Startled by this misleading statement, I did what your leader writer should first have done; I checked with the Government information Services, which clarified the position, as follows: "The National Day of Commemoration which is held annually on the Sunday nearest July 11th in the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, commemorates all those Irishmen and women who died in past wars or on service with the United Nations.
"Last year, the Taoiseach especially mentioned those who had died in the second World War, as it was the 50th anniversary of the ending of that war."
The actual relevant text read by the Taoiseach was: "It is fitting that we pray here today for all those Irishmen and Irishwomen who died in past wars or on service with the United Nations. This year, the 50th anniversary of the end of the second World War we remember particularly - our people who died during its course."
All the above italics are mine.
Clearly, apart from any wishful thinking on the part of your leader writer, there is no foundation for the statement your leader contained. However, it may be that, due to the wrong headed policy of successive governments of diminishing public celebration of the Easter Rising of 1916, there is a false perception in part of the public mind that this "broad spectrum" commemoration is for those who died in the British service.
It is almost certainly the case that the Provisional IRA have been virtually encouraged to hijack this most formative event in our recent history - the heritage of all the people - for which there appears to have been substituted the bland pabulum of "all those Irishmen and Irishwomen who died in past wars or on service with the United Nations".
It is right and proper that those Irishmen and women who gave their lives in the service of France, Spain, Austria, Bolivia, Russia, the United States, Great Britain and other countries should be honoured. But hardly at the expense of those who gave their lives that we might live with pride in the free and independent republic they proclaimed. Yours, etc.,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.