Cobh should commemorate murdered British soldiers

On March 27, the Cobh News, a local newsletter, published an article by John Jefferies about the 1924 pier shooting in Cobh: unarmed British soldiers and Irish civilians were machine-gunned.

While there were many casualties, one person, Private Herbert Aspinal, died. Mr Jefferies’ article revealed the complexity of the story and I look forward to his forthcoming book.

The scene of this tragedy should be marked, ideally by one of the excellent Historic Town Information boards throughout Cobh. The historic importance of this event should not be underestimated: the attack was launched to change Irish history and could easily have done so.