Madam, - Kevin Myers's Irishman's Diary of July 27th queries his omission from those invited to war commemoration ceremonies.
These are supposed to improve relations between people of different traditions. Perhaps the authorities felt his continuing denigration of those who fought for Ireland's independence made him an inappropriate guest.
He has many column inches for these attacks and returns to them again and again, with the persistence that the high-level propagandists of the second World War believed was essential.
His little fantasy that Home Rule equalled the Treaty in gains for Ireland is part of this. A brief comparison of the two documents would dispel this notion. Prof Joe Lee of UCC demolished it a few years ago. And, of course, Home Rule was not assured. Read John Redmond's speeches and the letters between Unionist generals who were working for repeal.
Indeed, under Home Rule, we would have been involved, with the RAF, in the inter-war aerial bombing and machine-gunning that made Iraq what she is today.
The myth of the neglected soldiers of the first World War can be dealt with again. Suffice to say now that, in the four years 1918-1922, the Civil Service non-examination jobs were stuffed with British ex-servicemen. They were still there in the 1930s. - Yours, etc,
ED DOYLE,
Tower Road,
Clondalkin,
Dublin 22.