Soldiers a source of pride

Your distinguished correspondent Ryle Dwyer, whose father was killed in the Second World War, writes a typically well-informed and well-balanced piece on the question of the deserters and their treatment and that of their children on their return to Ireland in 1945.

We do need to distinguish between “fanciful fiction” and the truth as he says, since the issue carries with it an emotional charge for many people on both sides of the argument. At the same time, there is a great opportunity here for reconciliation of all those involved, since surely we all have a common interest in peace and reconciliation in present-day Ireland. The record of Irish men and women in the 26 counties in the fight against fascism in 1939-1945 is surely a source of pride to us, as well as the skilful handling of the Emergency by Éamon de Valera.

Gerald Morgan