The wearing of a poppy was not symbolic of victory of empire or superiority but rather an international symbol of remembrance for the millions of soldiers who died in a conflict of huge human dimensions, Mr Charles Flanagan, a Fine Gael TD, said at a war memorial ceremony in Portlaoise yesterday.
He said Remembrance Sunday marked a shared experience of Irish and British people, not the tribal ritual "that some narrow-minded critics - from whom we have heard in recent days - claim it to be". Mr Flanagan pointed out that 250,000 Irishmen fought in the first World War, all volunteers. Almost 50,000 Irish people died.