In remembrance of our young men whose treatment was truly shameful
OUR politicians now stand commemorating the 50,000 young men seduced to their deaths by John Redmond, the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, who presided over the worst slums in Europe in Dublin, and widespread unemployment, by the ineptitude in failing to make British governments fulfil their promises made in the Act of Union 1800 of ensuring the standard of living in Galway would be the same as Somerset.
This landscape was ideal in recruiting starving young men who had not worked in Dublin since the lock-out of 1913, and thousands of men across the country whose only possibility of work was seasonal.
The economics of joining the army was the payment of the ‘Soldiers Separation’ allowance, which was 31 shillings and six pence, as against a labourer’s wage of 12 shillings per week at the time.
Asquith, after much pleading from Redmond, on September 15, 1914, told the House of Commons that the Home Rule Bill would be enacted and suspended until the end of the war.
On meeting the new secretary of war, the Kerry-born Kitchener did not believe that the Irish volunteers would be of much assistance – “Give me 5,000 men and I will thank you, give me 10,000 and I will take my hat off to you”.
Redmond recruited 150,000 men with such statements as “it was in that spirit her sons went through Europe 1,000 years ago that is the spirit her sons are illustrating upon the fields of war today”.
I am not surprised there was no mention of the number of court martials inflicted on the Irish troops, which was completely disproportionate to their numbers. Twenty-nine were executed. Most of the executed Irish were teenagers, raw recruits who had never been away from home. They were tried, usually with no legal defence, and the trial usually lasted a few minutes.
The usual ‘charge’ was leaving their post, and 80pc suffered from dysentery and going to the toilet was not regarded as a reasonable excuse. When not executed they were tied to wagon wheels for weeks in disgrace. Probably the most infamous execution was Private Downey, from Limerick, who was executed for not wearing his cap when ordered to do so. Hugh Duffy
Cleggan, Co Galway