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Kitcheners unionist bigotry

  • 03-01-2010 7:57pm
    #1
    McArmalite
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,476 ✭✭✭


    In WW1 nationalists from north joined the 16th Division while the loyalists joined the 36th Division. Her is a letter written by Lloyd George after WW1 about this typical unionist bigotry - even when they had joined the british army.

    I'm sure their must have been other instances of unionist and british bigotry against Irish men in and after WW1 ?

    " But Lord Kitchener did his best to damp the ardour of the Redmonds. He refused commissions to educated young Irishmen of the class and type who were being made officers in England, Scotland and Wales, for no conceivable reason except that he distrusted and disliked their nationalism. The culminating incident will take an invidiously prominent place in the tragic history of Irish relations with Great Britain.....When Lord Kitchener heard of the green flag and its Irish harp he ordered that it should be taken away. But the Ulster flag was allowed to wave gloriously over the heads of the Orange soldiers of the Protestant north. Ireland was deeply hurt. "

    http://freespace.virgin.net/sh.k/disflag.html


Comments

  • #2
    Morlar
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,273 ✭✭✭Morlar


    My attitude to incidents such as that in Irish history is that it is probably just as well.

    From a republican perspective leadership like that (as exemplified by kitcheners attitude above) from britain helped to polarise the nation and lead the moderates towards republicanism, and the notion that we could never ever have fair play under british rule. For the men who signed up to risk their life to fight in the british army during WWI it must have been a body blow especially considering the northern regiments were treated with more respect by their military leaders but I think they had more to worry about during that time. The fact that many of them (Irish WWI veterans) later joined the IRA is possibly related to their perception of how their service was valued and how they were treated based on their first hand experience. I don't know if that is true or not but I would guess that it was a factor for some.


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