Having lost the war against the English, Irish republicanism found itself that most pathetic of things, “a rebel without a cause”. Frantically searching in the morass in which they now inhabited they stumbled upon marriage equality and abortion – history was hastily rewritten and Bobby Sands became a martyr for the new ideals. When these were achieved in our beloved motherland the Irish language was elevated to almost divine status and became a red line which unionism has refused to cross.
Unfortunately for SF not many Catholics want a cúpla focal and the divine status is being treated with atheistic contempt.
Now out of the rabbit’s hat SF have pulled the old bogeyman which can always be depended upon to create a bit of a stir, the prospect of a united Ireland.
It appears SF have not thought this one through – in promoting secularism and abortion they have killed the very things that will make a united Ireland possible. Building a new Ireland is going to take hard work and commitment from all of us, something that means self-sacrifice and effort for generations to come. Are we prepared to do that? Secularism by definition means that I see the world through self-centred eyes in which everything is understood as how it affects me and my needs. Abortion means that a woman would rather dispose of her child than rear it.
Northern Ireland has never had a day of self-sufficiency. From the creation of the state we have depended on handouts from London. We have no industry or natural resources capable of producing wealth to the tune of £12 billion year. Our only natural asset, farming, can feed us but it can’t keep us in the manner to which we have become accustomed.
Do you think Paddy in Kerry is going to drive through bigger potholes so that the new all-Ireland Garda can police Orange Parades which prevent the Yanks from coming over to this new 32-county nirvana.
Sorry, Shinners, you have missed the boat. You have helped create a secular state with a secular attitude in Irish society. While these things were easy vote getters they have taken away any hope of attaining your ultimate goal. To build a country we need children, to mature as a nation we need self-sacrifice, something Bobby Sands was the personification of. It’s a pity you didn’t follow his lead.
TURLOUGH QUINN
Portglenone, Co Antrim
Uncertainty around Irish reunification only promotes instability
How might we address the current speculation about referendums on Irish reunification? One approach is to bring clarity and certainty to the discussion by filling in some of the existing gaps. That will only happen once a framework and time frame are in place. A sensible way forward, in addition to ongoing civic conversations, is to encourage intergovernmental dialogue. Both governments have a responsibility to sketch out, in consultation with others, a way forward. The British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference is the appropriate forum for a new joint declaration that would deal with matters such as timing, voting rights and, for example, the question to be asked in the north. The idea that this should be left to the secretary of state alone is questionable, and the current arrangements permit a partnership approach – this would not be outside the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
In order to encourage such prudential preparation, political parties entering negotiations on the return of power-sharing should insist on a commitment from both governments to advance such a framework. The present uncertainty simply promotes instability.
More than 21 years after the agreement, and in the light of Brexit, it is only fair that the principle of consent is tested within a defined time frame. Why not aim for May 22 2023? Why not allow the people of this island to decide their own constitutional future in the same way they so comprehensively endorsed the agreement in 1998?
COLIN HARVEY
Belfast BT6
No surprise Sinn Féin vote is in free fall
I sometimes wonder if Mary Lou McDonald has any idea what she is doing. Firstly, she wanted a border pole, then she didn’t, then she did. Then she and Mr Adams canvassed for abortion in the Republic content to deny the north any say in the matter. Then she threatened the north that it was next. Then she lobbied a foreign government she doesn’t recognise to impose abortion on the north. A true measure of her contempt for the northern people.
She is scarcely off the airwaves proclaiming allegiance to Berlin.
While historically Britain looted our wealth and natural resources it is the European Union who finished the job. Who can ever forget the Troika? Proclaimed as Ireland’s saviour, whereas in reality the Irish and Greek people saved the German and French banks and we will be paying for it for generations to come. Constitutional nationalist politicians are complicit in this cruel deception.
Is it any wonder the Sinn Féin vote is in free fall?
MARTIN DARCY
Omagh, Co Tyrone
Our children deserve better
To make his country better a bishop from failed Zimbabwe has encouraged Zimbabwean voters to vote for people who are competent, who believe in working for everyone within the law, who do not have a track record of failure and who break out of their tribal allegiances for the betterment of the country.
Does this not also apply to Northern Ireland voters?
Too many people in Northern Ireland are willing to agree with the above but will not take the courageous and indeed sensible stand and vote change.
Your children deserve better.
TOM EKIN
Belfast BT1
Lost regarding right to be Irish
According to Patrick Murphy (November 23) the DUP has led unionists into political isolation.
Join the club. Irish people in Northern Ireland have been in political isolation since unionism was established.
To quote Patrick: “The Orange Order preached civil and religious liberty, but unionism denied civil liberties until the civil rights movement in the 1960s.”
Over and above civil rights we have the right to national freedom. If we could exert ourselves to demand civil rights why do we not assert our right to national freedom? British rule has no right to govern Irish people.
According to Patrick: “Unionism is simply a desire by those, who are mostly descended from 17th century planters, for Britain to rule the north. Unlike other peoples who have arrived here, northern unionists have rarely integrated into the existing population.”
By Patrick’s own account, unionists are a separate and distinct people in their own right, which includes the right to self-determination. They have no desire to be integrated or assimilated into the Irish nation. Hence their resistance to a united Ireland.
We seem to be lost regarding our right to be Irish. As the man said: “Not Gaelic merely but free as well.”
MALACHY SCOTT
Belfast BT15
