It's OK to be an Irish nationalist and still support the remember the war dead 26th October 2007

The war memorial in the Diamond will be open to the public throughout the month of November. It's a site in Derry that I wouldn't usually give a second thought to. I have become so used to it that it doesn't even register when I walk past. It's merely a biggish roundabout, a mild inconvenience that I have to walk around if I'm heading from Bishop Street to Shipquay Street. But I think I'll stop and have a nosey at some point next month.
The decision to open the gates of the memorial has been taken by the Diamond War Memorial Project and it is hoped it will encourage people from both sides of the religious divide to go along, have a look, and view the names of the war dead.There are plans to make Derry people aware that of the 756 names on the memorial, nearly half belong to Catholic soldiers who died in World War I.Mary McElhinney, of the Diamond War Memorial Project, said: "People must realise that the Diamond war memorial belongs to all the people of the city and that we have a shared history."The majority of people who take the time to have a look around the plinth may struggle to remember any of the dead personally. After all, the First World War ended almost 90 years ago, and WWII ended more than 60 years ago but there will be the names of grandfathers and great uncles - names that may still be around today (Christian and surname) as the generations slip by.Many of the surnames will be familiar and I for one will take a dander round trying to spot a few McDaids, McNicholls or Brollys.The war memorial has often been the target for mindless vandals throwing paint bombs in the run up to November's war commemorations. Unfortunately, I’m sure it has also been the scene of a few other desecrations as late night revellers pour out of the pubs and clubs and seek somewhere to relieve themselves.But maybe now that it is open to the public, people will stop and think about what the memorial actually represents.We live in a society in which there is an ongoing “war on terror”; a battle for hearts and minds with the world seemingly divided into two camps. The people of Derry and the North have been involved in their own war over the past number of generations but not on the scale of the two wars in the first half of the 20th century. WWII was fought against the rise of Fascism and Nazism and both wars
shaped the world as it is now unlike any before.Some people view the war memorial with a mindset of: “Oh, I see - Britain, Poppies, British wars: “F*** the Brits!” That appears to be the sequence of events in the heads of some people I know. The memorial is a thorny and emotional issue especially given the role that the British Army has played on the streets of Derry in the past.But there is much more to it than that. Men and women of all religions and political leanings fought and died in the war against Hitler, Mussolini and their shared principles. Catholic people, Protestant people, atheists, republicans, nationalists and unionists all took up arms in the “war on terror” of their generation.The war memorial has little to do with the difficulties between certain Catholics and Protestants in today’s Derry. Those who desecrate it cannot be condoned in any way, shape or form.
They are not true nationalists, republican or Catholics.The war memorial has to do with thinking about the Catholics and Protestants in Derry 60 and 90 years ago who put aside their differences and sacrificed themselves, or were involved in the war effort, for the greater good. Men and women from Creggan, the Bog, and the Fountain.The First World War was a global military conflict which included the powers of USA, Britain, France and Italy against Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire. There were more than 40 million casualties and approximately 20 million military and civilian deaths as a result of the war. I’ll just mention that again for effect: approximately 20 million deaths. That figure is roughly four times the current populaton of Ireland - wiped out.WWI resulted in the independence of countries including Czechoslovakia, Finland and Poland. It destroyed the
German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Turkish Empires.World War II resulted in the deaths of more than 70 million people, making it the deadliest conflict in human history, and witnessed the demise of Adolf Hitler and his regime.They were massive events which changed the world and the people of Derry played their part. They were united against a common enemy and, as a result, their deeds must not be forgotten.Indeed, they should be remembered more often and with greater respect.For the month of November, the gates around the memorial will be open from Monday to Saturday, from 9.30am to 4.30pm.