Sir, – As someone who had ancestors and relatives who were variously members of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), the British army, the Irish Citizen Army and the Irish Republican Army (IRA)/Irish Volunteers (respectively) during 1916 and the War of Independence, I was moved by Tony Connelly’s thoughtful and sensitive RTÉ documentary on Monday.
It gave a balanced, tone appropriate and most of all human perspective on the unenviable position in which members of the RIC and their families found themselves, while acknowledging the broader political issues at play and the perspectives of IRA combatants. Programmes like this, with a focus on the individual over the institution, may provide a blueprint for how we can address the difficulties that remain around the questions of commemoration, reconciliation and forgiveness. – Yours, etc,
ANDREW ENNIS,
Dublin 8.