"They were formally dismissed from the Irish army, stripped of all pay and pension rights, and prevented from finding work by being banned for seven years from any employment paid for by state or government funds.Not many nations choose starvation of the families of deserters as a suitable punishment. Also most nations grant an amnesty after a few years to those deserters who have evaded capture.
A special "list" was drawn up containing their names and addresses, and circulated to every government department, town hall and railway station - anywhere the men might look for a job.
It was referred to in the Irish parliament - the Dail - at the time as a "starvation order", and for many of their families the phrase became painfully close to the truth.
You wrote:
“You might try reading the entire article”
Nothing in the article contradicted what I said. If someone doesn’t seize you, beat you, torture you, shoot you, seize your property, or exile you it really can’t be called brutal. These people wanted to serve Britain. They could easily have moved there after serving in the British army. Dig deep enough and you’ll discover some (just some) of these men were communists and other radicals upset that their native Ireland was not fighting alongside the USSR while Britain was.
The rule about no government support was hardly a starvation order since all of those who deserted could easily stay in Britain. And we might do the same thing if we had citizens joining to fight those who we believe had been our enemies for 800. Wait and see what we’ll do to Muslim collaborators when the time comes.
If we were invaded by China, oppressed by them for 800 years in our view, fought a low level guerilla war to free ourselves, and then had our soldiers desert to fight FOR China, how upset do you think we would be?
To many Irish patriots who suffered under British oppression it would actually be quite fitting for them to see their neighbors who wished to serve the former oppressor to go hungry wouldn’t it? After all Britain certainly could have done much more to save a starving Ireland in the 19th century. What comes around, goes around.