Two patriots, neither a ‘blithering idiot’

IN his column (Irish Examiner, November 20), Ryle Dwyer quoted, out of context, Padraig Pearse’s line about “the old heart of the earth needed to be warmed with the red blood of the battlefield.”

Pearse certainly did not wish that millions should die for the British empire in World War 1 or for the crown’s false claim to be defending the rights of small nations.

James Connolly’s influence on Pearse was considerable and I disagree also with your columnist’s suggestion that he called Pearse a “blithering idiot.”