We must take the Tom Barry approach to Bertie

During the War of Independence, Tom Barry knew a Major Percival, based in Bandon.

During World War II, the then Lt-General Percival surrendered Singapore to the Japanese.

A journalist asked Barry his opinion of Percival. His reported reply was: “If you are somebody, people talk about you, if you are nobody, they do not. I have nothing to say about General Percival”.