Ireland into the UK
army. Michael Buchanan has a report on the programme tonight. He writes:
"We'll be talking about a surprising side-effect of the peace process in Northern Ireland tonight - recruits from the Irish Republic are swelling the ranks of the British military.
Michael Godman from County Offaly wants to be a sniper with the Royal Irish Regiment. He says the image that many Irish people have of the British military - associated with its role in either the Republic's independence struggle or in Northern Ireland is history. And there is definitely a sense that the Republic is becoming more comfortable with the British military.
The funeral earlier this week of Robert McKibben from Westport, County Mayo - who was recently killed in Afghanistan - saw Royal Marine marching through his hometown -
something that wouldn't have been acceptable a few years ago. The respect shown at the funeral built on the opening of a memorial in nearby Castlebar last month to honour around 1500 people from County Mayo who died in several conflicts, mainly with the British. As one of the organisers of the memorial said we are not only honouring the dead, we are giving dignity to the living who can come here and now proudly tell their families that their ancestors fought and died for peace."
Listen to PM
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Soldiers from the "Republic" also fought, to the DEATH, on-the-side of the UK in WWII...
Very BRAVE warriors...
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It's not new - but perhaps it was in abeyance for a while. Cannon fodder, of course, but if that's how they want to live/die ... It makes the recent boycotts of remembrance ceremonies by Northern Irish elected officials on the Republican side of the fence even more farcical than usual. That's not new either.
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Many young Irish people have been impressed by the role the British Army has played in Afghanistan, more than the media would have us believe. Given the limited opportunities available in the Irish defence forces it looks an attractive option to anyone seeking a military career. Good luck to them.
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