An Cosantóir the official magazine of the Irish Defence Forces and Reserve Defence Forces.
Issue link: https://digital.jmpublishing.ie/i/1529332
An Cosantóir September / October 2024 www.military.ie/magazine 28 | S uch a question leads inevitably to highly emotional responses for those against and for any of the propositions – often not unreasonable points of concern are raised by both sides of the argument even if, as stated above, many are obscured by emotion. If one argues for a commemoration, he may be labelled an appeaser of the British imperial past. If one argues against the observance, it is easy to be labelled a whitewasher of Ireland's complex historical past and a spiritual and ideologue Republican. As the historian Doherty correctly pointed out regarding even the general topic of Southern Irishmen joining the British Army (leaving aside deserters for the moment), it was and remains today very 'difficult to have a rational discussion of the matter at all'. The fact remains that this is a hugely complex question and in endeavouring to make any form of conclusion one must dig deep into the psychological scar tissue of Irish military and political history. In so doing, the crimes of the British imperial past inevitably come to light, and the actions of the deserters are thus viewed through the prism of the Irish historical past and the island's very troubled relationship with the United Kingdom. Kelly aptly sums up the difficulty Ireland faces when a question such as this one is posed: 'Ireland's past is too fractured and violent for there to be a national consensus on who or what to remember'. In January 2020, the attempted commemoration of the RIC and DMP quickly descended into an identity politics argument with accusations of spitting on the graves of Irish patriots and treachery thrown around. The seemingly double treacherous nature of the WWII Irish soldier of firstly deserting Ireland's Defence Forces and secondly enlisting into the ranks of the old enemy will be a political and cultural tightrope to balance when the time comes for all parties involved - most notably that of the Irish Defence Force organisation itself. Should They Have Been Pardoned? The official state pardon exonerated all Irish Defence Forces soldiers who deserted. It made no effort to specifically pardon those who left and joined the fight on the side of the Allies. Min. of Justice, T.D. Mr Alan Shatter pardoned all these individuals without investigating a single case. Hypothetically, someone who deserted and went to work in the United States because they had enough of the army lifestyle was also pardoned. Many deserters did not desert to re-enlist with a different army but rather to leave the military altogether. For many, the army lifestyle was not for them and being unable to discharge (there existed an embargo on discharges until the Emergency ceased), they deserted and were pardoned. James Dunbar of Levitstown stated before a judge that he "did not like the army" and had no intention of returning. Matthew Gunning of Trim took 'French leave', as the Garda superintendent stated. Private David Staunton of Brickens, Ballyhaunis - when asked by the judge did you "get tired of it or what?" The young Staunton stated: "Yes Sir". Private William Lamb of Green Street, Dublin, said upon being arrested that he "did not want to soldier anymore". Charged on the same day and brought before the same court and judge, Private Michael O'Leary stated he did not want to rejoin the army. He, too, seemingly had not enjoyed the rigours of military life. For some, rejoining after deserting the army was not an option – life in the military was not for everybody. Christopher Rooney (18) stated upon his arrest, he had "no intention" of rejoining the army. It is stories such as these when details rather than bland generalisations are forthcoming makes one question the necessity and whether it was the right judgement to make to pardon all deserters. It can be reasonably asserted that to blanket ban everybody, in the first place, was wrong, and to blanket pardon everybody is also wrong. The State has pardoned the deserters – this is a fact. Thus, when WWII commemorations commence in the coming decades, will the organisation that the deserters left have to commemorate and remember deserters from their own ranks? Is there an historical precedent for such an occurrence? Eunin O'Halpin stated at the time of the pardon debate: they 'did their duty by the state. And I think to honour deserters is to insult the people who didn't desert'. Heroes or Traitors? Outside of the semantics and the legal technicalities of what these men were accused of doing and found guilty of by the Defence Forces and, by extension, the state – how could one not call the men who liberated concentration camps a hero; who braved the Atlantic waters and stormed the beaches of Normandy, a hero? From a European perspective, these men helped liberate the continent from Fascist regimes and illiberal ideologies. Irrespective of what they had been convicted of doing in absentia in Ireland, did subsequent brave actions acquit them of previous crimes? However, it is difficult to be certain that the motives individuals would claim retrospectively for their actions in the war years are those which prevailed at the time. Were these men simply mercenaries or liberators of Europe? The truth IRISH DESERTERS OF THE IRISH DEFENCE FORCES DURING WWII SHOULD THE DESERTERS BE REMEMBERED, COMMEMORATED OR CELEBRATED? OR IGNORED AND FORGOTTEN? ARTICLE BY CAPT CÍAN HARTE PHOTOS PROVIDED BY CAPT CÍAN HARTE Figure 1. Gunner Stephen McManus (seated). Stephen had joined the Irish Defence Forces for a brief period during the Emergency in the early stages of WWII. Stephen opted to desert from the organisation. He went on to join the British Army serving in the 144th Battery, 35th Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery. After basic training, he would be sent out to defend the strategically important city of Singapore. The Japanese however overran the city and by the 15th of February 1942, Stephen had become a POW of the Japanese Empire. Stephen would remain a POW until his death on the 27th of July 1943. Gunner McManus is buried in the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, Thailand. He died as a POW while building the infamous Burma railway. Picture courtesy of his surviving next of kin. Figure 2. John Finn (b. 14/11/1909) from Marlow, Ballymote, Co. Sligo. Labourer and Baker by trade. Served in the British Army during WWII. Returned to live in his native Ballymote after the war. Picture courtesy of next of kin.