Dear Editor,
I refer to plans to build British Army Memorials in 2023, for example in our area, Killester, on Dublin’s north side. Many well-meaning people in this country see no harm in the numerous British War Memorials, thinking that they are just remembering the past glories of the British Empire.
Historically, Ireland was a valuable source of food and recruits for the British Army and Navy. Even after 100 years of the state, this part of Ireland still supplies a lot of recruits for the British Army because of that long tradition, which is kept alive by the practice of supporting the War Memorials up and down the country.
It is not OK that Irish youth are made available year after year for recruitment into a foreign army, allowing it to continue to hold on to remnants of its empire with modern “interventions” to support their assets in the modern world. Irish government policy should actively discourage recruitment for foreign armies here.
We should protect our hard-won neutrality by opposing any further British War Memorials in Ireland.
Pat O’Connor
Killester, Dublin
