Poppy must not be twisted into symbol of division

Nobody needs to explain their wearing of the poppy in remembrance of war dead

Nearly 5,000 Irishmen died at the Battle of Passchendaele. Among them were 1,200 men who were killed on one terrible day in August 1917. Video Enda O’Dowd/Ronan McGreevy

Sometimes the best commemorations are the hardest. It is easy to acknowledge your own side, to do what everybody else does because that is the way it has always been done.

It is harder to acknowledge your erstwhile enemies or recognise their humanity. The modern trend in commemoration is towards reconciliation.

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