PRO PATRIA

Roger Casement
Photo: NLI Ref.: link
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So this year, as part of the ongoing centenary commemorations, we will be commemorating Roger Casement.

And what did Roger Casement do in 1916?

When Ireland, as part of the UK, was at war with Germany, he conspired with the Germans to overthrow British rule in Ireland.

In other words, he enlisted German help to "free Ireland".

Casement's funeral passing the GPO in 1965

So, in 1965, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of 1916, he got an Irish State Funeral.

1916 Casement Commemorative Stamp 2016

And in 2016 he gets his own 1916 postage stamp.

The late Albert Folens

This is Albert Folens.

And what did he do?

During WWII he collaborated with the Germans to "free Flanders", his native country, from the brutal cultural, linguistic and administrative oppression of the Belgian state.

And what was his reward?

Senan Molony

He was labelled a war criminal and included in a 2007 RTÉ TV programme entitled "Hidden Nazis".

The programme, insofar as Folens was involved, was a collaboration between Senan Molony and Cathal O'Shannon. The former I had never heard of and the latter I had some respect for up to that point.

The late Cathal O'Shannon

Both men should have been ashamed of themselves for making such a serious accusation on such flimsy evidence.

They both owe an apology to Folens's widow and family for the hurt and damage caused.

Unfortunately Mrs. Folens is now dead, as is Cathal O'Shannon.

So all that can now reasonably be done is for Senan Molony to apologise to the Folens family. Whether they might accept such an apology or not is entirely a matter for them.

And, incidentally, I didn't see any of our stout citizens, who are now consumed with patriotic fervour commemorating Casement, coming out at the time in defence of Albert Folens.

I think I was a lone voice crying out in the wilderness.

You can get a blow by blow account of the whole disgraceful episode here.

Do you remember Froggy?

I am now 50 years out of Coláiste Mhuire this year. At a commemorative lunch the other day, one of my classmates asked "Do you remember Froggy?"

Do I remember Froggy? Of course I do. He was my first French teacher, and a very good one. Not exactly a compliment to a militant Fleming, but there you are. You can't have it all.

I did a post on this blog in his defence this month 6 years ago. I was incensed at the time at how Cathal O'Shannon (now RIP, but a journalist whom I once admired) and Senan Moloney (who had an agreement with Froggy in 1987, which he presumably considered expired on Froggy's death, heedless of the man's reputation, or the feelings or economic fortunes of his widow) both went for the man in an RTÉ series on Hidden Nazis.

Fortunately, his widow, who was made of stern stuff, took the matter to court and secured limited implementation of the 1987 agreement. Meanwhile, RTÉ cut from the transmitted programme a reconstruction of a Nazi interrogation in which Folens was portrayed in the part of interpreter.

If you are curious you can read my original post, but for now I just want to recall him as a teacher.

He taught French by the direct method (mainly). This may have been because he was in an Irish language school and didn't have much, if any, Irish. I suspect he would have used this method even in an English speaking school.

He operated an incentive system. Laxity or indiscipline in class earned you an X. Three Xs and you were sent down to the Head. An exceptionally good performance in class earned you a circle. This allowed you to skip homework on a night of your choice.

There was a period of weeks when less than half the class turned up in school. I think there was some flu epidemic or suchlike sweeping the land at the time. Folens put the curriculum on pause and regaled us with stories, tonguetwisters and songs, all in French. I thought this very enlightened at the time. Those who were absent through no fault of their own did not miss out on the course and those of us who were lucky enough to turn up got a bonus. Il était un petit navire. Le riz tenta le rat, le rat tenté tâta le riz tentant.

As I mentioned in the earlier post, his "cog notes" could be seen as first class, depending on your view of the objectives of the education system. I certainly found them great. They were Roneod and were the germ that subsequently grew into a first class publishing company. They were followed by modest volumes on the newer subjects, like civics, for which no textbooks were available, and, eventually, by the full range of high quality textbooks.

Anyway, I thought he deserved a mention, more than 50 years on.