Just reviving this thread after two years to mark the fact that Phil Harrington, the last of the group of Irish soldiers who received a pardon for "deserting" during World War two, has died
Phil Farrington: Last 'Irish pardon' WW2 soldier dies at 94 - BBC News
With this and the welcome presence of the Irish head of state, President Higgins, at the recent ceremony at Gallipoli to mark the deaths of so many Irish soldiers in that campaign, perhaps Ireland can now finally put this shameful period in its history behind it.