Each year as we approach November 11 Irish society is forced to endure divisive controversy concerning Armistice Day, poppy wearing, and the commemoration of the thousands of Irish who died serving with British forces during the Great War.
Taoiseach MicheĂĄl Martin added to the yearly controversary by wearing an âIrish poppyâ during the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in Enniskillen. MicheĂĄl Martin cannot but be aware of the symbolism of the poppy here in Ireland which has a political subtext, functioning not just as a symbol of Remembrance but as a veiled propagandist attack on separatist Irish nationhood.
I wonder how many of those in Ireland, including the Taoiseach, who wore a poppy to honour those Irish in British uniform, who gave their lives fighting for the rights of small nations in the Great War, will wear an Easter lily to honour those Irish in Irish uniform who gave their lives fighting for the rights of this small nation at the same time?
Public ceremonies are held in Ireland to honour those who went away to fight in the Great War and never returned. The first Sunday of July each year is set aside as the National Day of Commemoration whereby Ireland commemorates, with respect and dignity, all Irish who died in both world wars and on service with the United Nations.
These ceremonies are attended by the President, Taoiseach, and the leaders of all the main churches and is both appropriate and dignified. Unfortunately, this ceremony, which is devoid of the military jingoism associated with similar commemorations in the North and Britain, does not satisfy everyone, as there continues to be a demand for the full participation of the Irish State in the annual Remembrance Day ceremonies of the Royal British Legion.
It is entirely proper that public ceremonies be held to commemorate the many thousands of Irish who went away to fight in the Great War and never returned. What is not acceptable is the persistent campaign waged to confer a modern day respectability upon the British army under the guise of honouring those Irish war dead.
It is unfortunate that the sacrifice of these brave men and women continues to be used as an emotional and dishonest basis for propaganda purposes. I take the view that some of those who wear the poppy do so to antagonise the living more so than to honour the dead.
Tom Cooper
Templeogue, Dublin 6
SF will never be part of any genuine peace
The absence of Sinn FĂ©in leadership from the Poppy Day remembrance at Enniskillen alongside Taoiseach MicheĂĄl Martin and Northern Irelandâs First Minister Arlene Foster is a direct indication that Sinn FĂ©in will never be part of any genuine peace.
Sinn FĂ©in is solely concerned with biding its time in a pattern of self-pitying rituals of national defiance when the opportunity arises to pose as a genuine political alternative.
Robert Sullivan
Bantry, Co Cork
Caution please on Pfizerâs Covid news
The stirring news that Pfizer has reported surprisingly positive results from their ongoing Covid-19 vaccine research should surely be tempered with a seriously circumspect caution.
Such surly scepticism may seem curiously curmudgeonly in light of the restrictions prevailing for so many, but we must always be afforded opportunity to seek total transparency regarding something so fundamentally challenging to our personal and collective worlds. False hope can obliterate the spirit.
One always has to practice a healthy balancing of robust enquiry and genial acceptance in these matters, especially when corporate entities are on the cusp of a global bonanza.
Letâs hope it is the real McCoy elixir to complement all current WHO public-health advisories to continually curb the devastating and debilitating scourge of Covid-19.
Jim Cosgrove
Lismore, Co Waterford
Good news, but we still need to test
The Spanish flu killed an estimated 60 million globally in the years 1918/19, at a time when the world population was under two billion. At the time of writing the death toll in the Covid-19 pandemic is 1.3 million out of a population of 7.5 billion (World Health Organisation).
Both viruses are invisible. It goes to show what progress has been made in science in 100 years.
Thankfully due to mass communication, and access to hygiene products, we are able to vastly reduce the effect on us humans. There is no doubt that here in the western world our economy is significantly affected. A large number of our population feel it financially.
Despite the good news that Pfizer is reporting a 90% success rate for its new vaccine, it will be 12 months or more before it is ready for mass injection.
For us in Ireland as an island, we should and could keep the virus out by significant testing at airports and seaports. Be strict with the quarantine rules as people come into Ireland both north and south. I know itâs not easy but if we are to defeat this, we have to implement these harsh rules. We have a long way to go and each one of us need to do our very best to keep this virus at bay.
Dermot Hayes
Ennis, Co Clare
Trump, symbolism, and a âTotalâ mess
Most of the time it is easy to determine what is fake or real news, although âLandscapinggateâ (where Trumpâs team held a press conference in the car park of a Philadelphia suburban garden centre, Four Seasons Total Landscaping, a suspected mix-up with Four Seasons hotel).
The online rumours, gossip, and perhaps straight out lies, or maybe even the truth, suggest the announcement for a Four Seasons media conference by Rudy Giuliani was moved as the hotel didnât want it, so it was reannounced as Four Seasons Landscaping, specifically the car park.
There is much symbolism in that apparently there is a crematorium on one side reflecting that the plans for a second Trump presidency are now just a pile of ashes. On the other side is a sex shop, reminding people of the rumours, unproven, of some misdemeanours in the private life of Trump.
The venue itself is an industry that can supply as much manure as any politician could throw around. The business may need to get more manure in, given that it is suddenly world famous.
The only true news that can be relied on is that President-elect Biden will provide a more stable presidency. Well done sir.
Dennis Fitzgerald
Melbourne, Australia
Balanced reporting has taken a hit
I have no doubt that America will survive its political brush with Donald Trump, but the greater question may be how long it will take the ideal of honest, objective, balanced journalism â an essential bulwark of functioning democracy â to recover from its incredibly blatant and sustained perversion in the hands of CNN and the like.
James N OâSullivan
Killarney Co Kerry
A golden moment as Rebels roar
Congratulations to Cork on their stunning defeat of Kerry in last weekendâs Munster SFC semi-final clash (Late drama sees Cork shock Kerry to reach Munster final, Irish Examiner Sport, November 9, 2020). With the last kick of the ball the rebels snatched victory from the Kingdom with the only goal of the match. The rebelsâ number one, goalkeeper MicheĂĄl Aodh Martin, had ensured there would be no leak of a goal at his end â a lesson there perhaps for his father?
John Glennon
Hollywood, Co Wicklow
More catch and kick please in GAA
The ancient art of catch and kick was well demonstrated in the Cork/Kerry match on Sunday as it produced the one and only but crucial goal of the game.
The rest of the tussle was a display of boring handpassing leading only to points, many of which were from frees, which is a feature of the handpassing game.
More catch and kick, please, and restore quality, and goals, to the game of Gaelic football.
Ted OâKeeffe
Ranelagh, D6.
