President Higgins pays tribute to those Irish who died in two World Wars

During the Prime Time Presidenial debate, President Higgins described himself as a spiritual rather than religious man, a distinction many people fail to grasp. Whilsts it's important to attend ceremonies such as this, it's equally important to consider the part orthodox Christianity (Catholic/Protestant) has played in the tug-o'-war over the soul of Caitlin Ni h'Uallachain (i.e. Ireland). A Papal Bull (c. 1171) granted Ireland to Anglo-Norman King Henry II of England so as to tame those pagan wild Gaelic-speaking savages. The rest is history.

What a wonderful breath of fresh air appears to bring with him.Visiting Northern Ireland and his attendance at a Rememberance Day service at Saint Patrick's Cuurch Of Ireland Cathedral in Dublin.Imagine how much suffering and bigotry on both sides may have been avoided if this frame of mind had been prevalant fifty,sixty,or seventy years ago.You appear to be an excellent President Michael D Higgins.

ancavker – Your perception of WW1 may well be based on the imagery of the Western Front, and the carnage there. However the main battlefield of that war was, as in WW2, the Battle of the Atlantic. Here many crimes were indeed committed against innocent Irish sailors, from the merchant fleet not the Royal Navy, who were engaged in supplying the Allied civilian population (including Ireland) with food, fuel and manufactured goods, from across the Atlantic. Over 14,000 UK Sailors were lost, so you can expect Irish losses to be in proportion by population. Blockade was an established form of warfare, both sides did it, but the sinking of unarmed merchant ships without warning was against the rules of war. Many historians regard WW2 and WW1 as essentially the same conflict, with a lull in between. French Marshal Foch said after the Treaty of Versailles, "This is not a peace. It is an armistice for twenty years"…he was out by about 2 months. So to say these men died for nothing is a simplistic view, seen through a very narrow prism.

Ancavker, This is about a religious observance. It costs nothing to say, "We remember all our dearly departed who died in what they felt was the name of freedom," or something to that effect. Historians can debate wars if they want, but religion should be a source of comfort for the living, not another area to fight petty squabbles. One of my grandmother's brothers fought in WWI, but during my lifetime, my cousin was severely injured when he was in Viet Nam, another unpopular war that soldiers came home from to jeers. I know what war is like. I sympathize with all the families of people who have been injured or killed in wars.

oldboreen: I do not necessarily disagree with you. But many of the revisionists want to elevate those who fought in two world wars, and ignore, and in fact malign with the words terrorists and criminals those who fought for Irish freedom. As far as fighting in defense of liberty, yes in WW 2, WW 1 on the other hand was just a blood bath, and there were no good guys there. The Irish men who died in that war, died for nothing, and fought against people who never committed a crime against Ireland.

Noticed the contrasting first two comments-those of joycean and ancavkar-Pretty well sums up the opposing opnions with regard to Ireland's relationship to the UK. No true Irishman or woman would in any way disrespect the memory of those who died for Ireland's freedom, but President Higgins quite rightly reminds us that tens of thousands of Irish men died in defense of liberty in two world wars. Airbrush them out of Irish history, as was the case for generations? Thank God we are no longer in that state of denial!!! That period was Ireland's shame! To honour the Irish war dead in St Patrick's was an act of true statemanship!

joycean: I hope he will of course do the same for those who died for Ireland's freedom. They should take precedence; well at least they would in every other country. But the Irish are an odd bunch.

How nice that Higgins participated in the Rememberance Day observance.Much better than arguing for 100 years about whether Ireland's dead deserve rememberance. The dead probably don't care, but their families do.