No welcome for royal visitors here

Surely our Taoiseach, Mr Kenny, cannot be serious in proposing that members of the British royal family should attend the ceremonies that are intended to honour the men and women of the 1916 Rising?

I’m all for amicable relationships with our near neighbours but as an Irishman I will never forget that English rule enslaved this country for more than 700 years.

Countless Irish people were exterminated, enslaved, deported and had to flee this island during this long period of occupation. Why are our current government now tipping the forelock to a nation that caused so much suffering to us? Recently, I purchased a book called Memoirs of an Old Warrior which recounted the struggle for freedom in the Muskerry region of Cork in resisting the military might of the British Empire from 1916 – 1922. The index of this excellent book lists the names, ages and sex of all the people killed by the British Army during this period. I can only wonder what these patriots and their decendants, who sacrificed so much in the cause of Irish freedom would think of Mr Kenny’s proposal for their royals to attend what is a well merited celebration of national identity and justified pride in those who fought to achieve freedom from its oppressors.