The History of The Irish...Worldwide
'In Flanders Fields the Poppies Blow' But Will They Grace Your Lapel?
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
-- Canadian John McRae, May 3, 1915
The poppy has become a lightning rod for nationalist politics in Ireland through the decades after the Armistice ended 'The Great War' -- at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Emblematic of mourning for those who died in the war, poppies -- everpresent in British ceremonies marking the war -- were typically eschewed in Ireland. They were, in many minds, a display of solidarity with those countrymen who served Ireland's oppressor. That view was far from universal, though fear of criiticism undoubtedly kept many Irish from displaying the poppy emblem. So we ask, will you be wearing a poppy this Remembrance Day weekend?
Check out The Wild Geese's coverage of Remembrance Day / Veteran's Day
Tags: 20th Century Ireland, Australia, Britain, Canada, Discussions, Events, New, News, War, World War 1, More…
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Cameron William Robinson on
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I am not sure but a one time did people in the U.S. not wear the poppy for Memorial Day perhaps Ger could look into this? I don't forget the German people, I do WW2 interpretation in schools and make a distintion between the Nazis and ordinary Germans. I also mention the 24 hour bombing of Germany which was much more then Britain or the U.S. got. Micheal you forgot the Japanese who suffered from the unquie event of not one but two nuclear bombs! The poppy in not a national symbol it represents the flowers that cover the fields of Belgium, they also grow on American battlefields. If nothing else vist a vetrans cemetary and leave a rememberance on Memorial Day.
There is no nationality in a grave.
Cameron
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Permalink Reply by Joe Mc Gowan on
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"Fuzzy nostagia of the poppy" from the Irish Times: http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/the-fuzzy-nostalgia-encoura...
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Permalink Reply by Kieron Punch on
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Ger, I have worn a poppy in the past in memory of my grandfather's first cousin, Cpl Martin Gleeson, 19th Battery, 9th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, who was blown to pieces just 26 days before the end of the Great War. I can no longer, however, bring myself to wear a poppy because of the way that simple, beautiful symbol of remembrance has been hijacked and politicised in Britain during the last decade by various jingoistic, nationalistic and pro-British military groups.
This all began in the wake of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, initially as part of what I think was a genuine ground roots call to "support our troops" irrespective of whether or not you believed the invasion was just. This was taken up by the right wing press, such as The Daily Mail, which put pressure on everybody to wear poppies and "outed" those who didn't as being somehow not patriotic.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1326063/Jon-Snow-poppy-fasc...
During the last few years this "poppy fascism" appears to have spread into almost every aspect of British life (while I'm typing this I'm also watching the TV show "Match of the Day" - highlights of today's football/soccer matches - and all of the teams, which contain many foreign players, are pressured into wearing kit with poppies embroidered on the chest, or sleeve, and parties of soldiers are on the pitch before each game, leading a minutes silence. There was none of that in Britain 10 or 15 years ago). And rather than remembering those who fell during the Great War and WW2, the focus now appears to be supporting the "heroes" of today (all British soldiers these days are heroes regardless of whether, or not, they have done anything heroic, and to say otherwise is unpatriotic, and possibly a sign that you support Islamist terrorists). What really leaves a nasty taste in my mouth though is the way that several right wing, and far right, political organisations, such as the United Kingdom Independence Party, The English Defence League, and the British National Party have jumped on the bandwagon, and use this rebirth of patriotism/nationalism/jingoism to cloak their vile bigotry and racism. They appear to be supported in this, perhaps unwittingly, perhaps wittingly, by the Royal British Legion which organises the annual poppy appeal. For instance, the social club of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment's Coventry branch of the British Legion is used to hold regional meetings of the neo-Nazi English Defence League.
I will continue to remember Martin Gleeson, and my other relatives who served in the Great War, but not by wearing a poppy. And I will not honour them in any jingoistic way but rather think of the futility of a war that caused such a waste of young life, perhaps with the help of a film such as Oh! What a Lovely War (the final scene) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqrc46ouZz8 or the comedic but poignant final scene from Blackadder Goes Forth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH3-Gt7mgyM
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Permalink Reply by Cindi Borax on
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I absolutely do, and always will. As a Canadian Veteran, I wear it to pay respect to ALL of my country's fallen, regardless of the conflict. And I will wear mine red, the colour poppies are. We've got our own 'debate' in Canada on whether white 'peace' poppies are acceptable, with the argument "for" being that red poppies glorify war. In my opinion, white poppies are not acceptable. To paraphrase a quote I read earlier today, which I couldn't agree more with, wearing a red poppy no more glorifies war than wearing a yellow daffodil glorifies cancer. There are all manner of symbols and colours out there for different organizations to use to champion their cause. No need to ride on the coattails of someone else's.
Anyway, a bit off track from what you all are talking about, but still poppy related anyway.
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Permalink Reply by Rónán Gearóid Ó Domhnaill on
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If a foreigner is a guest on a Canadian talkshow will they be forced to wear a poppy or an American flag on US TV? most Irish being interviewed on British TV go with the flow and accept the poppy pinned on their label even though they did not request one. What happens if they say no?
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Here is the interesting perspective of a British WW2 veteran:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/08/poppy-last-tim...
"I will no longer allow my obligation as a veteran to remember those who died in the great wars to be co-opted by current or former politicians to justify our folly in Iraq, our morally dubious war on terror and our elimination of one's right to privacy."
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Permalink Reply by Lisa Fortin Jackson on
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Mayo Peace Park and Garden of Remembrance--Castlebar, Co. Mayo (August, 2013)
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Permalink Reply by John W. Hurley on
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I'm a bit confused by this whole discussion because in America the VFW sells fake poppies to raise funds for veterans. So myself and my family have worn them all our lives but we wear/wore them in memory of US soldiers who died, particularly those who died saving Europe from Hitler, as my Dad was a WW2 veteran.
That said, my grandfather was a reservist prior to WWI. In 1913 he also joined the Irish Volunteers and helped drill and train men who later fought in the War of Independence. On the outbreak of the war he got called up and there were many others in exactly the same position. Either they wanted to soldier or they just needed the money because they were so poor. Although defeating German militarism and fascism in WWI was just as important as doing it in WWII. After the war ended he returned home, and fought in a column so he was able to put some of what he learned to work to help liberate Ireland. Ironically perhaps during the War of Independence many times British soldiers disliked the Black and Tans as much as the IRA did and often helped save IRA prisoners from being murdered. If you ever read about that period it happened quite a lot. I think about 1/4 of all Black and Tans were Irish Catholics. And while the British army has done horrendous things in Northern Ireland at times, to my mind they were not as bad as the Free State soldiers who tied unarmed prisoners to landmines and blew them to pieces or buried alive wounded prisoners during the Civil War. Of course these men founded the modern Irish army.
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Heritage PartnerPermalink Reply by That's Just How It Was on -
Yes, I buy and were the poppy every year. because two of my uncles served in the British Army, one of them died at 27years of age. For whatever reason they served in the British Army, does not matter to me ; that fact that they put their lives on the line, is the real issue here.
If they made the decision in Ireland to promote green Poppy's I woudl buy and wear one of them also. Irish men died in two world wars . Irish men died in Ireland 1916 / 1919-1922.................... and our history tells us that Irish men and women died in many, many other conflicts in Ireland and all over the world...
Remembrance is just that remembrance... all all those young men who went to war and never came back Politics shoudl not come into it, although it does unfortunately .
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