'lucid, vigorous and positive,' though less methodical since it never had the happiness to undergo the Latin discipline. France and Ireland have been made to understand each other." France, too, knew and loved him. In a beautiful tribute to him in a French journal, L'Opinion, the writer says: "All parties bowed in sorrow over his grave, for in last analysis they were all Irish, and they knew that in losing him, whether he was friend or enemy, they had lost a true son of Ireland. A son of Ireland? He was more. He was Ireland! He had fought for all the aspirations of his race, for Independence, for Home Rule, for the Celtic Renaissance, for a United Ireland, for the eternal Cause of Humanity.... He died, a hero in the uniform of a British soldier, because he knew that the faults of a period or of a man should not prevail against the cause of right or liberty."
In a farewell letter to his close and honoured friend, Mr. Devlin, he shows that he had envisaged death and was ready: "As you know, the character of the fighting has changed; it is no longer a question of serving one's apprenticeship in a trench with intermittent bursts of leaving cover and pushing right on. It is Mons backwards with endless new obstacles to cross. Consequently our offensive must go on without break. This means, of course, the usual exaction in blood. You will have noticed by the papers how high the price is, and all Irish Regiments will continue to
