AS THE Irish Government prepares to take part in Britain’s Remembrance Sunday commemorations this weekend, the divisive debate over whether the Irish should wear a poppy has reignited.
Irish Ambassador to Britain Dan Mulhall will lay a laurel wreath at the Cenotaph in Whitehall on Sunday, November 8 for the second successive year.
As the Irish Government's representative in Britain, he will stand alongside leading British figures, including Queen Elizabeth, members of the Cabinet, former Prime Ministers, representatives of the armed forces and others, to pay tribute to fallen soldiers.
Last year, Ambassador Mulhall became the first representative from Ireland to participate in the wreath-laying ceremony in the English capital in almost 70 years.
This comes in a week where Dublin UFC star Conor McGregor sparked outrage on social media, after he was pictured wearing the commemorative symbol, which is worn in memory of those who have suffered or died in war.
He responded to criticism over his decision by posting on Facebook that he didn’t need “a stupid little flower” to illustrate his national allegiance.
UFC star Conor McGregor this week took to social media to share his views on wearing the poppyIreland soccer manager Martin O’Neill was also this week forced to defend West Brom midfielder James McClean in the wake of controversial post-match celebrations against -former club Sunderland last month.
The 26-year-old, who goaded Sunderland fans during a Premier League match in October, previously claimed he had been “hung out to dry” by the club following his refusal to wear a poppy in 2012.
The poppy became a symbol of remembrance following World War One, as it was one of the only flowers to flourish across the devastated countryside in Western Europe.
This week Irish Post readers have shared their views on the wearing of the poppy.
Whilst a majority felt it bore a sense of pride for those who served their country, others felt it symbolised atrocities carried out by the British Army, such as the Ballymurphy massacre and the events of Bloody Sunday in Derry in the early 1970s.
Yes, it’s worn in tribute
Kate Mary Fennell, lives in Ruislip
I was born in the Republic of Ireland and educated here in England. My father and mother both wore the poppy and l do the same. It is worn with pride for the men and women who served and died for their country so that we can enjoy the freedom we have today, Irish men and women were all part of the war effort for the common good of all. May they rest in peace never to be forgotten.
John Treacy, lives in Bournemouth
Any person who wishes to wear the poppy should for the right reason. Ireland contributed to the war efforts through the men who fought and died. The poppy represents all.
Marianne Heaven lives in Newport, Wales
I think it should be accepted as a personal choice. Many Irish people have ancestors and family members who joined the British Armed Forces, many died in that service and they have a right to be honoured and remembered.
Many Argentinians in Britain wear a poppy, as do Indians and Pakistanis, Jews, Christians, Muslims, etc. I also wear my poppy for every poor soul who suffered as a result of war/conflict, and for those who are suffering now. However, for some the memory is too painful. I respect that too.
Vivienne Irvine lives in Portrush, Co. Antrim
I wear my poppy as a tribute to my wee granny who was a World War One widow from Co. Down, and for my husband’s family members from Co. Tipperary.
Two out of three of the family who went to war in August 1914 with the old British Expeditionary Force never came back. I also mourn all the patients I nursed through 40 years of nursing in west Belfast.
To sit with the mother of a soldier shot before his 18th birthday is unforgettable. To remember the child blown from her uncle’s arms in a bombing. I remember them all. I pity the parents left to bury their children.
Tim Casey lives in Flintshire, Wales
Why not. They gave their lives for our freedom; you would be disrespecting all the Irish who gave their lives in the two great wars.
Marie Johnston, 55, lives in Luton, Bedfordshire
My opinion of Irish people wearing or not wearing a poppy is this. I won’t say they should, however I always do as something passed down to me by my mother. Her own father James Ledwidge was in World War One and was discharged with honour, but sadly his brother John Ledwidge (pictured) was killed.
Without any politics I wear the poppy for John, a young man I never met, but who is my kin. I will not be the one to forget his bravery and sacrifice and that of all men and woman who have, and still do, risk their own lives in the hope that we will have a better one. I don’t think the poppy promotes war; sadly conflict manages very well to promote itself.
No, it’s not Ireland’s symbol
Tim McCann lives in Dublin
No blood stained poppy. British soldiers butchered our people and are still stationed in the north of our island. They have killed people for centuries from Australia to Africa, from Palestine to India, and from America to Ireland. Butchers.
Mark McCoy lives in Finsbury, southern Australia (from Dublin)
Poppy fascism, for those that died in illegal or pointless wars, since 1945. No thanks. If it was just a remembrance of those taken in World Wars One and Two… I am with James McClean (pictured) all the way on this one. RIP to them.
Terry Connolly, 41, lives in London (from Co. Monaghan)
I choose not to wear a poppy. I acknowledge the many thousands of Irishmen who died in the two world wars, but I feel that the poppy and Remembrance Day just looks upon the soldier as a death and not as a person, who had a family, had a job, who lived life in all its joy and sorrow and had potential.
I think wearing the poppy is soothing for members of the establishment because it forgives them their role in fomenting war. It forgives them their greed and forgives them their lack of suffering. Added to this as someone from Co. Monaghan but living in London, I cannot support a ceremony that celebrates the British Army, especially given its role in Ireland.
Alan Johnson, 69, lives in Gateshead and Co. Limerick (from Lincoln)
Wearing a poppy is a matter of personal choice. I remember wars and the people who fought in them but I do not wear a poppy. It is not for me to judge others’ feelings or for others to judge me. I think we should respect and get on with each other, as we are, not an easy thing. Others will disagree.
Gerard Fox lives in Wexford (from Dublin)
The wearing of the poppy symbolises something completely different in Ireland than it does elsewhere.
To most of us in Ireland it symbolises the British Army and all the killings that they were involved in in our country. Hundreds of innocent people have lost their lives because of their actions and just because they wear a uniform does not give them the right to shoot people in cold blood i.e. Bloody Sunday in Derry, when 14 people were shot dead by the Parachute Regiment and Ballymurphy, when 10 were shot.
I would be here all night going through the long list of innocent people killied by the British Army, so you can stick this symbol of remembrance where the sun does not shine.
Would you wear a poppy? We’d like to hear from you — please email [email protected] to have your say.
See More: Britain, Featured, Ireland, Poppy, Remembrance Sunday
