Assessing the 1956 upheaval in Hungary, the French intellectual Raymond Aron wrote: "The Hungarian revolution, a historic tragedy, a triumph in defeat, will forever remain one of those rare events that restore man's faith in himself."
Curiously, I vividly remember the impact of the Hungarian revolt reverberating all around me as a small boy, while the simultaneous crisis over Suez hardly registered at all. Budapest was the focus of attention: the image of the oppressed Hungarian nation standing up against its mighty neighbour had powerful resonance in this country. There was also the religious angle, with Cardinal Mindszenty being released from a Stalinist prison by the freedom-fighters and then having to take refuge in the US Embassy, where he remained for 15 years.
A wave of emotion swept this country and, despite being in the economic doldrums, the Republic took in 541 Hungarian refugees, most of whom were housed at Knockalisheen Camp in Co Clare. It was my privilege to cover a moving ceremony there recently commemorating the events of 1956.
Among those attending was a well-dressed young man wearing a photograph around his neck. The photograph showed another young man, in military-style uniform with cap; obviously the picture was taken a good few years ago.
The man in the picture was Lajos Botos (1934-95) and he was attired in the uniform of a Hungarian border guard of the 1950s. The picture was being worn by his son, John Botos, an official with Irish Aid, the development assistance programme run by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
How a Hungarian border-guard ended up having a son in the Irish diplomatic service is a story worth telling. As John Botos himself puts it: "My beloved father, Lajos Botos, was a special person forged out of the war-torn central Europe of the 1940s where his daily fight was for survival." Young Lajos was drafted into the army in April 1954, when he was 20, and sent to Pornoapati to guard the western border with Austria. At the time of the revolution he had attained the rank of corporal and he played a key role in leading a mutiny among the border-guards.
On November 4th, the day when it all went wrong and Soviet tanks launched their fateful attack on Budapest, Lajos and three other guards took over the radio station at the nearby city of Szombathely, forcing the announcer to deliver the following message: "We, the Pornoapati border guards, are not with the Russians, we are with the people and we are for the Revolution. Anybody who has to leave the country we shall not stop but rather help, and we call upon the rest of the border guards on all the western front to follow our example."
Next day they could hear the sound of the Russian tanks coming their way. Heavy fighting ensued and eventually the four young soldiers found themselves on the Austrian side of the border, under armed guard.
Housed initially at a wartime US base in Salzburg, two weeks later they were granted freedom to go where they wished. Two members of the group chose to return home and Lajos discovered later that they had been executed by firing-squad for their role in the radio broadcast. Lajos himself was one of 40,000 Hungarians who went to the US, where he started his new life on New Year's Day, 1957.
He soon established his first Irish connection: John Botos describes how his father was sponsored as a political refugee by "the famous Emmet family of Concord, Massachusetts", direct descendants of Robert Emmet's brother, Thomas Addis Emmet, who went to the US after the failure of the 1803 rebellion. John believes his father "most probably reminded them of their strong revolutionary roots".
Lajos loved Irish music and dance, which reminded him of his Hungarian cultural heritage. "He used to attend Irish dances in the Sherry Biltmore Hotel in Boston and on one perfect Saturday night in December 1961 he spotted my mother [ Christina Sheil] who had the most beautiful smile." They became engaged on New Year's Eve 1961 and were married on April 29th, 1962.
"My father developed a strong affection for Ireland and my parents moved home to Ireland in January 1963," says John. "He resided here until his untimely death on February 11th, 1995 - having lived away from his homeland the majority of his life - as a very proud Irish citizen." The family lived in the Dublin suburb of Raheny and Lajos worked as a film technician in Ardmore film studios, where he was involved with films such as The Commitments and "Far and Away, starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
Like many people who live through turbulent times, Lajos Botos did not like talking about it afterwards, but his son John believes it is time the story was told. "The ultimate price which he paid for the love of his country was the loss of his family, his friends and his beloved Magyarorszag [ Hungary]. However, the spirit of '56 remained in our home and we always kept a little piece of Hungary alive."