Madam, - While I cannot confirm that 50,000 Irish men and women fought and worked for the allied cause in the second World War (Sean Coleman, February 5th), my own view is that the number is probably an underestimate.
As an Englishman, I served in the Royal Engineers with the 14th Army in Burma during the war. Alongside my unit was a company of Enniskillen Fusiliers, the overwhelming majority of whom came from south of the Border.
In all the military and medical services in Britain and in the Far East I encountered many Irish people. When asked why, as citizens of a neutral country, they were serving in the allied services the usual answer was: "We know whose side we are neutral on."
Ireland has no more reason than any other country to be ashamed of its record in the war. On the contrary, there is much to be proud of in the number of its young people who served the cause of freedom, many at the cost of their lives.
In November 2005 I returned to Burma for the 60th commemoration of VJ day. Looking at the many graves in the war cemeteries there, I noted, with sadness, the number of Irish names. - Yours, etc,
FRANCIS BAILEY, Killiney, Co Dublin.