I’m no historian, but at 81 years old have survived some turbulent years of world history,
I was fortunate to be born in Dublin then ruled by a rational, ethical, democratic national government following many centuries of foreign tyranny.
That government, alone amongst those of nations represented at the League of Nations, honoured the League’s Covenant, espoused universal peace, demanded (in vain) the imposition of effective sanctions against Japan for its attack on Manchuria and on Italy for its Rape of Abyssinia. Eamon de Valera was denounced as a “Firebrand” by Britain’s Anthony Eden when he said that Ireland was prepared to supply troops to a League force for Abyssinia’s defence.
IN FAIRNESS TO BRITAIN, it has to be said it made Italy pay for the aggression – into the coffers of the British-owned SUEZ CANAL COMPANY, for the passage of the rapists with arms, bag and baggage, saving the fascists the inconvenience of a trip via Gibraltar and Capetown.
I think de Valera may have been the only head of Government in the world to denounce Hitler’s 1935
Nuremberg Decrees stripping German Jews of citizenship, property and employment rights.
In Ireland Fine Gael’s Desmond Fitzgerald attacked de Valera’s remarks, and the same party’s
Patrick Belton, condemned Dev for not supporting “Catholic Italy’s” rape of Abyssinia. And I am
afraid that I have yet to see a record of Pope Pius XI or any Catholic prelate criticising the persecution of the Jews or the Rape of Abyssinia.
The Fianna Fail Government in the 9 years it had been in office when I was born had so thoroughly
bound up the nation’s wounds of the “Civil” War that my generation grew up oblivious of them.
In nearly 160 years the United States has not come to terms with its civil war.
Thanks mainly to Fianna Fail Ireland has not engaged in an imperial war for over 100 years.
Since Hitler did the world a favour by shooting himself, the self-professed champions of the
“Free World” – Belgium, Britain, France, the Netherlands, the United States, Australia and
Canada, either together or individually, have been engaged in aggressive, oppressive,
dishonest and inhuman campaigns on peoples who have never threatened their legitimate interests.
Including an almost 30-year war on Irish nationalists. English, Scottish and Welsh people are not
(generally ) Ireland’s enemies. But the British State is not, and never has been, Ireland’s friend.
Indeed, it’s a moot point whether it has ever been the friend of British subjects or citizens,
But Fianna Fail today, together with Sinn Fein, seems hell-bent on making good the omission.
A letter in the Irish Times today claims that Ireland is menaced, by Russia – a “Rogue State”.
Neither Russia, the Russian people, its States in Czarist, Soviet, or today’s guises , have
ever been Ireland’s enemies, nor have they threatened Western Europe. The Soviets, in
my lifetime. liberated most of Europe from Fascism.
It is dangerous and crazy to join in the war waged by NATO on behalf of the USA on a
country defending itself.
I agree with you main points, the West is good at portraying itself as the good guy, ‘the victor writes the history’. But on this occasion the West has bravely stood up to Russia, watch Midnight on fire, Netflix. Ukraine did not attack Russia, this is not an internal problem as Russia would like to portray. How many former Easter Block countries want to return to the Soviet Empire? Putin is a dictator and thankfully Biden is brave enough to stand up to him, without America Ukraine would’ve been over-run. If Trump were in power he’d have said ‘nothing to do with us’.