No commemoration for our enemies in 1916

The state funeral of Thomas Kent was a rare beast. It managed to perfectly balance the intimacy of a family funeral with a State event.

However in his oration, An Taoiseach Enda Kenny spoke about the need to commemorate William Rowe in Glasnevin at next year’s commemoration along with “all those who died in 1916”. Rowe was the RIC head constable who came to arrest the Kent brothers and was shot dead in the ensuing gun battle. The RIC were the enemy of those who fought for Irish freedom. He should not be commemorated next year and neither should anyone who fought to maintain the colonial powers in Ireland.

It is hard to envisage the French or British government commemorating the German military on their state occasions.