It is the fate of veterans to come home to a land changed – a land where they no longer belong. None more so than the Irish men and women who served in the British forces in the First World War and came home to Ireland after the 1916 Easter Rising. It is only in recent times that Ireland has found the political generosity to recognise their service and their sacrifice – and the Queen’s visit to Ireland was an important step along that journey.
So today for the first time an Irish wreath was laid at the Cenotaph. For the third time, Taoiseach Enda Kenny laid a wreath at the War Memorial in Enniskillen – where I grew up. It seems a long time since the horror of the Remembrance Day bombing in Enniskillen.
If only we could see the same steady political progress within Northern Ireland ..
Mary MacAleese also deserves credit for breaking the logjam, when she attended the Remembrance service in St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin.
Hear hear!
My father knew about half the victims of the Enniskillen Remembrance Sunday bomb. I hope the politicians get on with learning to live together.