Sir, - For the past three months I have been puzzling over the references to the patriotism of the Irishmen who joined the British army during the First World War which were prompted by the ceremonies at Messines last November.
Let me explain. I had the opportunity of observing this "patriotism" when the local defence force was being organised in the Tullamore area in 1939. A fairly mixed bunch joined the new force, but there was a notable exception - not one former member of the British army enlisted.
My father, who was the officer in charge of one of the companies formed in this area, was anxious to have men with combat experience involved, but despite several appeals to 1914-1918 veterans, not one joined. There were evasions, lame excuses and, in one instance, downright aggression. One man, a former sergeant-major with a distinguished war record, did, however, give a straightforward answer to the effect that while he would like to join and felt that he should, if the British invaded he would not fight against them. My father's impression was that his attitude reflected the feelings of most of the British Legion in the town.
It does seem a strange kind of patriotism that impels a man to travel far beyond the borders of his homeland to engage in conflict a people with whom he has no quarrel but that does not extend to defending his own country.
And of course, in the references to the Great War the absurdity of Irishmen fighting Germans to obtain Home Rule was trotted out. But for its tragic consequences that notion would surely qualify as the "Irish joke" of the century.
Of course, the Tullamore case may have been exceptional, but from what I've heard over the years, I don't think so. - Yours, etc., John Clarke,
The Tanyard, Tullamore, Co Offaly. Howth, Co Dublin, and Hamburg.