Reading Robert Sullivan’s recent letter, ‘United Ireland is never going to happen’ (January 23), I was reminded of words written by the late, great Irish News television critic Sean Breslin. Referring to a prominent unionist politician he wryly commented: “His use of the English language is refreshingly unorthodox.” Idiosyncratic English and a fine disregard for facts, laced with attempts at schoolboy humour, are rarely indicative of, or conducive to, clarity of thought, as Robert’s rambling letter vividly demonstrates.
The second tortuous paragraph of his letter accuses me of quoting Articles 2 and 3 of the 1937 constitution. In fact I quoted verbatim from the Irish Government’s 1998 amendment to those articles. This amendment, while discarding the territorial claim to the north, nevertheless defines Ireland as one nation and aspires to unity by consent. It affirms the right of every one born in the 32 counties to Irish citizenship and to an Irish passport. Indeed since the Brexit referendum, applications for Irish passports by residents of the six counties have reached record levels. Other than by Robert himself, the foregoing facts are unlikely to be ‘misunderstood by any man’ as he puts it. (Women would seem to count for little in his scheme of things.) Whether consent to unity will soon, or ever, be forthcoming from a majority in the north, is something neither I nor Mr Sullivan can foretell with certainty, but his repeated dogmatic assertions that ‘it’s never going happen’ (sic) smack of abject and frantic paranoia. What we can be certain of is that never again will northern nationalists accept second-class citizenship, in either a divided or united Ireland.
In a somewhat silly aside Robert asserts that I ‘shot off to Google’ in an effort to disassociate Cork from what he calls ‘modern northern rebels’, while considering Michael Collins and Liam Lynch ‘reason enough to label us thusly (sic)’ .
In fact I have no interest in associating, disassociating or labelling Cork people or anyone else, with or from violence in the north. I hold no brief for violence anywhere. And while, like Robert, I regret the internecine civil war, brought about by Britain’s age-old tactic of ‘divide and conquer’, I reject his assertion that the Free State’s war on the Republic was pursued ‘without outside help’. Likewise, unlike Mr Sullivan I find it incongruous that Fine Gael and Fianna Fail leaders annually offer homage to, and lavish praise on, two implacable exponents of physical force, while those leaders simultaneously excoriate Sinn Féin’s violent past. I would of course concede that southern politicians reserve their most fulsome praise for those who killed Germans and Turks on an industrial scale.
BRIAN PATTERSON
Newry, Co Down
Stark killings’ statistic doesn’t tell whole story
Once again we have had to listen to Sir Jeffrey Donaldson extolling the virtues of the security forces in the House of Commons, when he condemned the historical murder charges being brought against soldiers. He went on to tell his fellow MPs how the security forces were responsible for only 10 per cent of the killings in Northern Ireland. However, as Sir Jeffrey well knows, this stark statistic does not tell the whole story. Many members of the security forces have terrorist convictions. The notorious Glenanne gang alone, practically all of whom had security force connections, may well have doubled this percentage.
Sir Jeffrey and his fellow unionists prefer to ignore this branch of terrorism and the fact that UDR and RUC personnel were able to use security force resources to target victims for loyalist murder gangs. The evidence of this is irrefutable, as security force documents and indeed ‘stolen’ weapons, frequently ended up in the hands of loyalists.
Even accepting the validity of Sir Jeffrey’s 10 per cent, the timing of security force killings in many instances proved to be the catalyst for an escalation of violence and massive surges in IRA recruitment – the
Ballymurphy Massacre, Bloody Sunday and other equally calamitous events like the Falls Road curfew and internment.
The security forces were not, as Sir Jeffrey would have us believe, honest brokers in the Northern Ireland conflict. They largely followed a unionist agenda – internment being a prime example of unionist appeasement. Those of us who were easily identified as Catholic by our names and addresses, faced daily harassment and lived in mortal fear of running into a rogue UDR patrol like the Miami Showband did.
When Margaret Thatcher said “murder is murder, is murder” did she exempt security force members?
P McKENNA
Newry, Co Down
Avid readers’ views matter
It’s hard luck for Sean Cahir Scullion (January 18) that truth and reality cause him to get so tired and dreary and as an avid Irish News reader appears to think I should be banned from writing to The Irish News – something I have been doing for the best part of 50 years. Don’t the views of thousands of other avid readers matter? Without the free press offered by The Irish News, political bullies and dictators in our midst would have a field day.
Sean speaks of Sinn Féin and others up at Stormont doing their best to get this small country back up where it belongs. Where in his view is that supposed to be?
In my book all those working in Stormont are there to do the queen’s bidding and ensure that her partitioned colony remains safe and intact. That is its function and has been since its inception. How does Sean’s views square with the Irish Proclamation?
As for elections, I would have no desire to partake in being elected to a colonial assembly.
The Sinn Féin hierarchy have recently publicly stated they have all been taken for fools, proving what the Sinn Féin bashers were telling them for years.
Doesn’t Sean know that his Sinn Féin-treasured Stormont has fallen to dust?
LAURENCE O'NEILL
Martinstown, Co Antrim
Vote for the right to life
As a pro-life Catholic I want to endorse Sean Taggart (February 2) in urging Catholics to vote DUP at this election. At the last assembly election the DUP, TUV, UKIP and SDLP all stated they were pro-life parties and got my votes. Sinn Fein, Alliance, PBP and the Greens seem to be hell bent on introducing abortion into both parts of Ireland, including the aborting of our young right up to the day of their birth. I believe any nation that kills its unborn children cannot move ahead and solve all the other problems it faces until it can safeguard by law the most fundamental right given to all humans – something which even pro-abortionists have been granted – the right to life. For this election, I urge all Catholic voters to forget Brexit (we can smash that later), the RHI scandal (all hot air) and other unimportant issues, and send as many pro-life candidates, of whatever party, and from whatever side of the religious/social class divide they come from, to the assembly, to stand up to those who would introduce abortion to the island as we will all be in a much darker place if they succeed.
JOHN AUSTIN
Limavady, Derry
Flying pests a total scourge
When are people going to learn not to drop litter in city centres. The places are becoming plagued with pigeons that won’t walk out of your way and then proceed to flap up in front of your face. I would walk across a street to avoid these horrible things only probably to find more. They also deface everywhere they walk. They are a total scourge and feeding them should be illegal. Bins should be covered and footpaths totally rubbish free. We need more legislation and should be exterminating these flying pests.
DERMOT SPOLLEN
Portadown, Co Armagh
