Thoughts rarely take a straight track. Today, Ireland in History Day by Day reminded that Thomas Ashe died on this day 97 years ago. On my travels photographing grottos and the like, Thomas Ashe has appeared twice – the grotto in Lispole has a plaque in his memory and the Calvary at The Mall in Dingle lists a number of men who are remembered. There are very few that I have photographed that do actually combine republican commemoration and religion. I still find it uncomfortable – the mixing of religion and armed struggle. Christy Moore sung that ‘the men of cloth failed again’. This then forces consideration as to whether there is any good time for a church to get involved in a war – surely, with members probably on both sides, they will be going against some of their members and so will be wrong in someone’s eyes. |