Letter to the Editor: Forgiving atrocities of the Civil War
It was with sorrow that I heard the RIC commemoration planned for January 17 was deferred. Surely we are mature and Christian enough to forgive the past.
We cannot reverse the atrocities of the past and for those members who did not commit them, it is right that we should commemorate the whole.
I taught in a Malaysian medical school for a few years after my retirement and one morning when I arrived in for for a lecture to the final year students.
I asked them, for a change, what they would like to talk about. They all shouted: “The war, professor.” I then asked: “What war?” Their answer surprised me — “the one in Ireland”.
Questions by students; answers by me.
Were both sides Irish? Yes.
Were both sides white? Yes.
Did both sides speak English? Yes.
Were both sides Christian. Yes.
Why and what’s the hassle?
There then occurred a precis of Irish history and a rapid return to their curriculum. I nicknamed the young lady “Aristotle”.
