Young soldiers of WWI deserve recognition for the sacrifices they made
In Ireland, of course, someone somewhere will inevitably attempt to complicate matters by playing either the green or the orange card. And that too represents what Wilfred Owen, in a different context, called “the pity of war”. James Connolly, Emmet Dalton, Tom Barry and my maternal grandfather all shared the common experience of wearing the uniform of the British Army at some stage. While I cannot with any certainty vouch for my grandfather, the others also played a significant role in the realisation of their country’s independence.
In Fermoy and the surrounding villages, between 1914-18, many young Irishmen also donned the uniform of the army of the British empire and went off to fight for what they were assured was the defence of small nations.
In addition, leading Irish politicians held out for them the further inducement that when they had won the war, Ireland would, in Robert Emmet’s words, “take her place among the nations of the earth”. So much for spin.
What is important, however, is that these young men, and the great majority who waved them off to war, had no doubt they were fighting for their country. That is one of the reasons why a group of local people are attempting to erect a fitting memorial to the 125 young men from the Fermoy area who lost their lives in World War I.
Many of those involved in the project are former members of the Irish Army, mostly veterans of various United Nations interventions who served in places far away from home. Perhaps it was that experience - that world view - which shaped the awareness that they too should not be forgotten for the sacrifices they made for a more peaceful world.
The erection of such a memorial is an honourable undertaking and gives us all, as mature citizens of a mature democracy, an opportunity to remember these lost boys and, as it were, welcome them back home.
Nick Nolan
The Old School House
Melleray
Co Waterford
