GERALD MORGAN, FTCD.,
A chara, - It is greatly to be hoped that the review by Kevin Myers of L.A. Carlyon's Gallipoli (Books, January 4th), and not least the splendid portrait of the landing from the River Clyde that accompanies it, will encourage Irish historians to remedy the neglect of this important chapter in Ireland's own history.
We can hardly be surprised if Australian historians are interested in the importance of Gallipoli for the emergence of a sense of Australian national identity. But the subject is hardly less important to the definition of an Irish national identity, if only, (to date) in a wholly negative and destructive way.
The experience of Gallipoli in Ireland itself was a necessary precursor to the Easter Rising of 1916 and a vital determinant in the course of Irish history in the 20th century. If we aspire to peace in Ireland today and to a reconciliation of all our traditions we need to know much more about the Irish in Gallipoli - that is, how they died and why they died. - Is mise,
GERALD MORGAN, FTCD., Trinity College, Dublin 2.