Pardon for soldiers a dangerous precedent

WE are being asked to believe that all those who deserted the Irish army during wartime to fight for the British army did so because they wanted to fight the fascist menace.

I say “all” because I do not see any other possible motive ever mentioned — financial, boredom, jingosim, etc. There is no doubt that money in the form of better pay was a deciding factor for some, adventure for others. The notion that all went to fight the fascist menace and save Poland is simplistic in the extreme. If it were so, why didn’t they keep fighting when the Red Army overran Poland? Stalin’s gulags were every bit as bad as Hitler camps.

A pardon for these men would make a mockery of those Irishmen who did their patriotic duty and stayed enlisted in the army of their country and that they had sworn allegiance to.

It would also set a very dangerous precedent, especially at a time when the British army would love to poach further manpower from our Defence Forces for its wars in Iraq and elsewhere. The so-called campaign for pardons should be seen in this light.

Nick Foley

Carrigaline

Cork