35,000 Irish men died in the horrific slaughter that was the First World War. Some enlisted in the British Army because they had no work and needed an income. Others listened to the Irish politician, John Redmond, who told them that they needed to show loyalty to the British empire and to support Catholic Belgium.
In all a staggering 17 million people died as a result of this terrible conflict.
Instead of seeing this horror as a reminder for why we should never support any imperial war again, elements of Fine Gael have been encouraging the population to wear a poppy.
However the poppy is intimately linked to support for the British armed forces.
The Royal British Legion puts it plainly that poppies are “worn to commemorate the sacrifices of our armed forces and to show support to those still serving today”.
Wearing the poppy is clearly not incompatible with organising a rerun of the slaughter.
Among the sights to be seen already in the lead up to Remembrance Week was Theresa May – the PM who refuses to halt arms deals with the Saudi Arabian government and who recently deployed British military advisers to assist the Saudis in their war criminality in Yemen – assisting the Royal British Legion in launching this years’ appeal from the doorstep of 10 Downing Street.
One way to honour the men who died in such slaughter is to remember how this war was stopped – by an uprising of German workers and sailors who refused to join ‘the last offensive’.
Another is to stop Shannon being used as a base for US troops to stage armed actions in other countries.
Fine Gael are pushing the poppy because they want to erode Irish neutrality. They- and their friends in Fianna Fail- have voted to join PESCO which will require a four fold increase in Ireland’s military budget.
So, no, we did not wear a poppy– but we remember those who fell by opposing all future imperialist wars.
