Irish Election are pleased to announce our collection of Irish 
Iraq, Fintan Double Standard O’Toole and 2007
Read more about: Fianna Fail, Irish Politics
Ah Fintan O’Toole Fintan Fintan Fintan what are we going to do with you. Yesterday in the Irish Times apart from the piece on the Irish Election site. We had a piece from the boald Fintan. Basically it is about Martin Cullen’s meeting and “welcoming back of US troops from Iraq” in New York over Paddies weekend. Which included a wreath-laying ceremony in New York. And he told the audience that Ireland was proud of the contributions made by many Irish men and women to the uniformed services of New York and the US. The unit he was with was the 69th the “Fighting Irish” who took sustained 13 deaths in it tour of Iraq.
All fairly ok now you say. However then Fintan goes into his usual spiel. He says that because of the killings they sustained that it is was hardly surprising that they had a shoot first ask questions later attitude. Then he details the case of some Italian Journalists that they shot in a tragic accidents. He gives out that because of this Italians are angry and then says about the decision to say “Ireland was proud of the contributions” that “it is hard to know whether the stupidity of these decisions is greater then their immorality”. He finishes of with how Iraq is failing and American public doesn’t want it anymore and the neo-cons admitting they were wrong yadda yadda yadda. Now just in case any of you anti-war people are going right on Fintan is the man and I am an evil sugar. I ask you this question if Martin Cullen had said that to about a British Army regiment one that served in Northern Ireland. Lets just say the parachute regiment. Would Fintan be highlighting the case (the many cases) where this regiment shot un-armed innocent Irish citizens? Go on about British occupation of the six counties how the British public no longer want the North, how their rule of the North has ruined the North and how they will leave Northern Ireland “with a toxic residue of tribalism and sectarianism” . How all the pro-union conservatives now admit they are wrong. Would he of the decision of Martin Cullen to meet with the Parachute regiment “it is hard to know whether the stupidity of these decisions is greater then their immorality”.
No of course not Fintan would be praising Mr Cullan for reaching out to the other side. Going on about how democracy has won over the gun man. I am sure he would pull out Connolly’s quote “ I pray for all brave men who do their duty according to their lights”. He would wax lyrically on about how far we as a nation has come that even if we disagree with a countries policies we can respect the brave men that risked there lives for their country and only then can we really find peace. But alas the nation has yet to go as far as to accept Connolly’s words extend to all people not just British Soldiers that kill Irish people. It extends to all armies in the world. Agree with the war or not but the troops in Iraq are not the ones that started it the blame. If blame is required it lies solely at the feet of the administration. The soldiers task is to do and die not to question why. Using the lives or deaths of the soldiers for political point scoring is shameful whatever side do it.
But how will all this reflect on the next general election. Will Iraq become an issue will the Greens Socialists and Labour that demonstrated in Shannon last week get a bump in the polls. I think not the level of demonstrations over the Iraq war have dropped dramatically from what they once were. A mere 500 turned up at the last one. True it was after Paddies day and some people might have sore heads but if people were passionate about it they would be out. But they are not they are passionate about crime, health and education. In a few weeks no one here will remember Martin Cullen’s speech but some solider who risked his/her life for the Iraqi people (whether you believe in the war or not that is what the solider personal believed) but one of them might remember and that is all that matters.
Update Just another thought. Considering it is said that Martin Sheen is moving to Ireland to study in Ireland. Will that give the Anti-War movement a new voice that might turn a dieing cause into an election issue.?
Update 28/03/06: Fintan O’ Toole responds to an letter about his column.He refers to the Parachute Regiment but not his own feelings about the Parachute regiment.
Do you have a reference or quote on Fintan O’Toole’s attitude to the British Army in Northern Ireland or are you just second guessing what you think he might say? It’s one thing to call someone hypocritical for something they actually said, it’s another to call them it for something you presume they would say.
‘The soldiers task is to do and die not to question why’
The soldiers and their families have every right to ask why they’re being sent to die.
I am second guessing fintan here based on people general percheption of peace and reconciliation.
Jg. Yes they do i wass just quoting a poem. Which possible I souldn’t in the context. But my point is do we punish the soliders for doing something they have little choice in. i.e. say laying a wret for them is wrong
But is it possible to honour the sacrifice of a soldier while withholding approval for the cause for which he made the sacrifice? Doesn’t that leaves us in a moral no-man’s land? Should we be laying wreaths for suicide bombers?
Using the lives or deaths of the soldiers for political point scoring is shameful whatever side do it.
But that applies to the wreath-laying also. However unsavoury it may sound, the state commemoration of dead soldiers is a political act (justifiably so, in my opinion). The real double standard is in pretending that it is not. To view it in any other way demeans the sacrifice made by the soldiers. It’s like saying that it didn’t matter what they died for or that they didn’t know what they were fighting for.
But is it possible to honour the sacrifice of a soldier while withholding approval for the cause for which he made the sacrifice?
How is laying a wreath to honour the dead approving of what happened. For instance I am sure that we layed a wreath at some of site of the battles of world war 1 during the 90th aniversity for all soliders. Are we appoving the actions of Beligum being invaded by Germany. Or are we honouring all who fought and died for their country.
Some letters in Thursday’s IT respond to Fintan’s column
Madam, - I write in response to Fintan O’Toole’s column (March 21st) castigating Martin Cullen for attending a ceremony for the Fighting 69th infantry in New York during St Patrick’s week.
The Fighting 69th is emblematic of the history of the Irish in America. Indeed, if O’Toole walks into the Dáil he will see the battle flag of the regiment which was presented by John F. Kennedy to the Irish nation on his visit in 1963.
The history of the regiment during the American civil war when thousands of Irish-born soldiers died in service to the Union army in the battle against slavery will always ensure that the regiment, which annually leads off the St Patrick’s Day parade in New York, has a unique place in Irish American culture.
Martin Cullen was entirely correct in attending a ceremony honouring this regiment.
Not to have done so would have been an insult to the memories of so many Irish who died defeating slavery and later fascism during the second World War.
O’Toole has written sensitively in the past about the need for the Irish to acknowledge their war dead, whatever battlefield they died on.
Cullen was merely doing the same for generations of brave Irish soldiers in America.
- Yours, etc,
NIALL O’DOWD, Sixth Avenue, New York.
Madam, - My blood boiled on reading of the latest antics of Minister for Transport Martin Cullen during the St Patrick’s Day celebrations in New York.
How much did Bertie Ahern - or even the Minister that Mr Cullen was presumably deputising for, the Minister for Defence - know in advance about the sentiments the Minister would express “on behalf of the people of Ireland”?
In any event, it appears that Martin Cullen took part in a ceremony to welcome home and congratulate Irish-American troops returning from the Iraq war expressing “the pride of the Irish people” in their actions.
Not alone does he not have any mandate for this, as any opinion poll will tell you, but the particular regiment being referred to (the 69th infantry division, or “fighting Irish”) was responsible for the death of an Italian citizen at a checkpoint, when the car he was in was fired on. .
This pathetic grandstanding looks immeasurably worse when the figures for the opposition to the war within the US itself are viewed - a 65 per cent disapproval rating at the moment.
It surely puts the tin hat on whatever credibility this Government had, presuming the Minister has its backing.
Yet another humiliation and betrayal of those of us who opposed this lunacy at the outset.
The electorate are entitled to answers on this.
- Yours, etc,
EOIN MacDONAGH, Glenbower Park, Churchtown, Dublin 14.
Madam, - Like Fintan O’Toole, I am opposed to the war in Iraq. His article of March 21st last suggests that he may have missed a wider connection between Waterford, (the constituency of Minister for Transport Martin Cullen) and the US 69th Infantry Division, known as the Fighting 69th.
Brigadier General Thomas Francis Meagher (1823-1867) was born in this city.
Meagher commanded the Irish Brigade of the 69th which fought in all the major engagements, in the east, of that war.
In recent times a wreath from the 69th was placed by members of that unit at the equestrian statue of Meagher on the Mall in Waterford.
- Yours, etc,
DES GRIFFIN, Lower Newtown, Waterford
sorry that comment was caught in the spam filter for some reason. Anyway is up now.
Interesting cross section of views. See I am not crazy