The Taoiseach said last night that while he doubted he would ever wear a poppy, he supported the commemoration of all Irish people who died at war while in the service of the British army.
Mr Ahern was speaking in Dublin Castle at a State reception in honour of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association, which was launching a website on the history of the regiment. He said the event was a symbol in the evolution of public attitudes towards those who died while in the British army. He acknowledged that in the past, attitudes towards those who joined that army had been less than generous. It was important Ireland in the 21st century had an inclusive attitude to every tradition. "The Government must set a good example," he said.
In 1914 those who belonged to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers would have been regarded by their families, those in the Irish Parliamentary Party and the churches as good Irishmen going about their patriotic duty.
"Whether their background was nationalist or unionist made no difference, but the majority would have come from a nationalist background," he said. However, on their return they found a different and changed Ireland.
"That was not unique. It was a situation encountered by returning soldiers all over Europe with, in some instances, traumatic long-term consequences," he said.
"Official attitudes to commemorating the fallen of world war one tended to be cold and censorious and that remained the case until the relatively re cent past. Sean Lemass as Taoiseach started to make honour able amends to that in 1966 when he acknowledged that attitudes had been less than generous.
"Huge numbers of Irishmen, mostly from humble backgrounds in city and country, signed up for the Irish regiments in the British army over the last 300 years. They are part of our history. The Royal Dublin Fusiliers had their origin in regiments that served in India.
"They fought in the Boer war and led the parade into Ladysmith at the end of the famous siege. They were on opposite sides to Major John McBride's Irish Brigade but this is not the first time Irishmen found themselves on opposite sides in wars abroad.
"It happened, for example, during the American Civil War. The Royal Dublin Fusiliers also fought at the Dardanelles on the western front, including the Battle of the Somme.
"In every cemetery in north-eastern France and in Flanders, Irish headstones are to be found," he said.
Mr Ahern described the website as a "valuable dimension of our varied history."