Centre should honour the heroes of 1601

I recently read with dismay reports in the Irish Examiner of plans to establish a centre in Kinsale to commemorate ‘The Wild Geese’. This is intended to honour present-day veterans of the British, American and other armed forces.

The term ‘Wild Geese’ is a misnomer and an insult to the defeated armies of Sarsfield who, on surrendering after the Treaty of Limerick, in 1691, were forced abroad on pain of death by the victorious English army.

If any centre devoted to military history is to be built in Kinsale, it should be in honour of those brave soldiers who came with O’Neill and O’Donnell and lost their lives in the pivotal battle of Irish history, in 1601. The other group that should be honoured in Kinsale are the women and children who tried to survive in the forests around Bandon/Kinsale, having lost their lands after the defeat and Treaty of Limerick.