Madam, - In a letter from E.F. Fanning (December 1st) a visit by Queen Elizabeth is viewed with marginally less horror than one by, perhaps, Osama Bin Laden. We might "abandon the shamrock for the poppy", he suggests. That is a false dichotomy. The soldiers whom we remember were proud of their Irish military tradition and wore the shamrock with pride.
There are many reasons for wearing the poppy, the obvious one being to contribute to a charity. But for us in this country it also provides a bridge towards reconciliation between not only the two traditions of nationalism and unionism, but - much more importantly - between the two traditions of Irish nationalism, physical force and constitutionalism.
This is one of the bridges that must be taken, held and crossed in the interests of our future national health, despite coming under fire from ignorant but deeply entrenched tribal bias.
The soldiers we remember were, like nearly all of us today, constitutional nationalists who answered the call of their elected political leaders. But thinking of the scorn in which the wives of these men were held by some as "separation allowance women" stripped of their humanity and fear for their husbands by "patriotic" writers, it seems like a good idea to wear the poppy in remembrance of them also.
The road may not be easy but, proud to have held the President's commission, I found it made easier by organisations such as the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association, which provide contact for the descendants of men who walked the different roads from the national crossroads of 1916, and offer excellent lectures, as the recent one by Prof Eunan O Halpin on intelligence in the Rising. - Yours, etc,
P.D. GOGGIN
(Capt. ret'd),
Glenageary Woods,
Dun Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.