Willie Carty worked as a groundsman or similar for the last two of the Dopping women who lived on the estate at Derrycassin. He told stories of the Pashtun who were fighting the British Army, among whose ranks the Doppings and their cousins were fighting.
The Doppings and the Boyds who orgininated in Derrycassin, were in the British Army fighting in the Pastun areas of modrn day Pakistan and Afghanistan, the most famous of which was Maxwell Edward Dopping Hepenstal.
They told stories of a fierce but honorable people, wedded to their faith, tribe and identity which hile the British did not like them they respected them immensely as adversaries.
Willie used to tell of the stories he was told by the two women to all the cottages he visited, and even though a lot of Irish of the time could not point out the area on a map, they identified with the Pashtun as the Irish fighting the Tans and Auxies in the Ireland of the independence war period were of the same thinking.
Dad used to tell us of Willie Carty talking of this to him when Dad was a young man. This came up when there would be news reports of the Soviets getting beaten by the Afghan rebels. Dad used to say that Willie said that the Pashtun could never be beaten, they were such warriors.
Military leaders of today should take note, I think!