A chara, - Those who have written referring to the Irish contribution to Nelson's victory at Trafalgar should be made aware of the facts. Vast number of United Irishmen or even those suspected of disaffection were sentenced to service in the British navy.
Also, the press gangs literally kidnapped young men and forced them into the naval service. These gangs were especially active in Cork and Dublin. So, many Irishmen had no choice in the matter.
Once on board ship there was no escape - the alternative to the possibility of death from enemy gunfire was the certainty of execution for desertion or refusal to obey orders. "Rogha an dá díogha."
It is indeed sad that many Irishmen, themselves representatives of a conquered race, by choice or by compulsion served the military interests of a corrupt empire and assisted in the "ethnic cleansing" and oppression of "lesser breads outside the law", as described by Kipling, the poet of empire.
Thank God for the 1916 leaders. Not alone did they redeem Ireland from many shames but they also set in train a series of events that led to the dissolution not just of the British empire but all other empires also. Not just Irish people but all humanity is deeply in their debt. - Yours, etc,
PADRAIG Ó CUANACHÁIN, Dún an Óir, Corcaigh.
Madam, - I attended the Trafalgar celebrations in Portsmouth recently. As the Sea-King helicopter flew overhead and dipped its wings, I waved at it happily, as no doubt many an Irish seafarer in difficulties has done before.
It is high time we realised that we and England are close siblings in the human family. - Yours, etc,
V. COLLINS, Caragh Lake, Co Kerry.