Execution of Irish soldiers was unjust, says report

A REPORT into the courts martial and execution of 26 Irish soldiers by the British Army during World War I shows the men were treated unjustly.

Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern said the report, which is the first to probe the shootings, was officially submitted to the British Government through the Irish Embassy in London.

“Although concerns have been publicly raised by the families of the victims, notable military historians, and many Members of Parliament and the public on this sensitive issue for many years, this report is the first instance in which the courts martial and execution of the 26 Irish soldiers has been extensively evaluated,” he said.

“The files describe a military system of justice that ignored clear evidence of medical afflictions and extenuating circumstances in favour of the need of the upper ranks to impose an exemplary disciplinarian regime on the rank-and-file in an effort to deter others from contemplating a similar crime.

“Executing a soldier in such circumstances must be seen as clearly unjust, and not deserving of the ultimate penalty.”

Mr Ahern also drew attention to the apparent disparity in the treatment of Irish soldiers.

“For so many of those recruited in Ireland to be condemned to death indicates a disciplinary approach markedly harsher than that faced by men from other countries,” he said.

“In fact, the number of Irish soldiers condemned to death by courts martial during WW1 represents 8% of the total number of condemnations, while the number of Irish troops corresponds to only approximately 2% of the British Army numbers at the time.”

Mr Ahern said he was asking the British Government to revisit the issue in a humanitarian and compassionate manner.

“As we approach the 90th anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War, and the world prepares to again remember those who sacrificed so much during those terrible years of trench warfare, a retrospective action by the British Government to redress the condemnation of those ‘shot at dawn’ would be widely welcomed, both in Ireland and further afield,” he said.

“The overwhelming level of support in Ireland, across political and religious divides North and South, has convinced me that a resolution to this matter would not only be of great comfort to the families of the men involved - which is our priority - but would also reflect positively on the already close relationship between Ireland and Great Britain, especially in the context of the respective attitudes toward the First World War.”

The Shot at Dawn (Ireland) Campaign, co-ordinated by Peter Mulvany, lobbied the Government to support their call to the British Government to retrospectively pardon 306 British soldiers executed during World War I for military offences.

Twenty-six of these soldiers are believed to be from Ireland, and the offences under which they were sentenced to death and subsequently executed were repealed in 1928 and 1930.

Foreign Minister Brian Cowen announced Government support for the campaign in November 2003.