IRISHMEN IN THE NAVY—WEARING OF THE SHAMROCK.

HC Deb 09 March 1900 vol 80 cc482-3

MR. PATRICK O'BRIEN

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will ask Her Majesty to be pleased to command that all Irishmen in the Navy shall wear shamrock on St. Patrick's Day.

THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (Mr. Goschen,) St. George's, Hanover Square

There are no regulations with regard to the wearing of emblems on special days in the Royal Navy. I could not ask Her Majesty to issue such a command as is suggested, even looking to the fact that shamrock is not procurable on foreign stations or on the high seas. But the Admiralty will have no objection to Irishmen in the Navy wearing a sprig of shamrock on St. Patrick's Day, and commanding officers will be so informed.