Madam, - Some reflections prompted by this poignant time of Easter. On April 28th, 1916, Padraic Pearse said: "If they [the Volunteers\] do not win this fight, they will at least have deserved to win it. But win it they will, although they may win it in death. Already they have won a great thing. They have redeemed Dublin from many shames, and made her name splendid among the names of cities."
On May 2nd, the day before his execution, he stated: "We have not lost. To refuse to fight would have been to lose; to fight is to win. We have kept faith with the past, and handed on a tradition to the future.".
Speaking in Dáil Éireann last Tuesday, An Taoiseach, Mr Bertie Ahern, told members on the Opposition benches to "shut up". What an appropriate statement from a man whose administration is best characterised in terms of dubious integrity and dearth of acumen.
The patriots of this country did indeed hand on a tradition to the future. It is grossly disappointing that Mr Ahern and his politics of paucity continually betray it.- Yours, etc.,
PETER G. MILLER,
Woodfarm Avenue,
Palmerstown,
Dublin 20.