I have never written to a newspaper in my life but I think it is newspaper in my life but I think it is necessary to have the ordinary [my] person’s point of view stated.
I watched Prime Time on RTÉ and was dismayed by the talk of a potential new election. It is obvious why this is deemed necessary. I also watched the Republic’s minister of foreign affairs, Simon Coveney, addressing the UN Conference and was so impressed and proud of him. He came across as such a statesman who was so genuine, compassionate, articulate and eloquent. He is a leader on the world’s diplomatic stage. Unfortunately, today there are so few who could measure up to him. The only person I can think of is Michel Barnier. They have the same aura and presence and they are speaking from the heart. They are truly statesmen.
On Prime Time, a new policy for the DUP was discussed which was that an election could be called if the Northern Ireland Protocol was not removed. As stated, in a democracy an election was a right. In my opinion freedom of speech is also a right. I believe that in a democratic society mutual respect is also a must and at present that has been as a result of what has been achieved by both the Civil Rights Movement and the Belfast Agreement. This has been achieved after 30 years of hell – the citizens of Northern Ireland have tasted peace. They know what a precious jewel it is and all kinds of threats and scaremongering are futile. Such helped fuel the Troubles and has incarnated them. This type of rhetoric will not change the facts.
If the Belfast Agreement was to go nothing would change. We have experienced 20 years of mutual respect and cooperation and there was a time to prevent it but that is also gone. Some people’s insecurity will not change this. The old policy of ‘divide and conquer’ has gone.
But Brexit is here and there was a time to prevent it, but it has also gone and it will stay. There are no threats to the Act of Union – why should there be?
For a place that has endured one of the darkest times in recent history, most people would assume our elected representatives would want to move heaven and earth to protect and promote it.
It is a fact that violent revolution only breeds more violent revolutions. We in Northern Ireland had a peaceful revolution.
Our neighbouring country knew not to go for Brexit and in light of Afghanistan being in Brexit and without EU support is not a very enviable position. I am not referring to anyone who supported Brexit but it may not have been a very productive position. Britain was always in charge and now the plan is shown to be very flawed.
As a result of being in the EU the Republic is booming. New companies daily establishing themselves there.
Recently, it was stated the Republic was making the Irish Protocol worse. How is this so? They were not involved in Brexit and it was also stated the Northern Ireland Assembly had been dissolved for three years. This is very true but it was not said, why?
All I hope when/if the assembly is dissolved that all the non-working MLAs will contribute their salary to the NHS and I think this would be a very noteworthy cause.
M TRAINOR
Co Down
Ireland has 32 counties
Recent headlines in the media stated that Ireland’s population had increased to an estimated 5.01 million from a report issued in April 2021 by the Central Statistics Office in the Republic. You can imagine my shock on reading this news to discover that we had lost approximately 1.9 million people (Our population is around 6.9 million). No, they haven’t been kidnapped by aliens but the name of our country has, which leads to this continuing fake news narrative that the 26 counties is what constitutes the country they call Ireland.
Ireland has 32 counties with Northern Ireland and the Republic being the combined sum of our shared coast-to-coast territory. Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement the Irish Government amended articles 2 and 3 of their constitution to any claims of sovereignty over the whole island of Ireland to state that a united Ireland could only happen with the consent of majorities in both jurisdictions. No part of our partitioned island has the exclusive right to call itself Ireland this title can only be used to describe ourselves as one whole nation when we get that mandate to reunite.
It may suit the career politicians in Dublin to continue misusing Ireland’s good name as their own personal brand and behaving as if the people in the north-east don’t exist, but thankfully we have many great institutions to remind us of the ‘oneness’ of our country like the Protestant Churches, trade union movement, GAA and Ireland’s rugby team to name but a few. If they continue to label the 26 counties as being the total sum of Ireland they must make key changes to reflect their Walt Disney fantasy such as removing St Patrick as patron saint – he wasn’t buried in their Ireland. The version of their flag needs to be green and white as most of the orange in the tricolour represents our unionist brothers and sisters in the north and since it also excludes so many nationalists maybe the colour should be entirely white to signify a complete surrender to fake news.
MICHAEL HAGAN
Dunmurry, Co Antrim
Reliably incorrect
Robert Sullivan is so reliably incorrect in stating that England still has power. It lost it at the end of the Second World War and has never recovered it. That Scotland wants to go its own way is her business, and being part of the UK was not a mutual arrangement at the time but was carried out by including it into the English Parliament, the same applied to Ireland – it took an uprising to get freedom for the 26 counties, although the free staters threw the six counties off the bus as being inconvenient to their plans. We here are an English creation but, maybe, not for much longer. Afghanistan is an example of just how much power England has, and it costs money to keep up with the big boys. When America pulled out, England pulled out as well, along with the various sections of the EU – we now follow the directives that America sets us, that’s if we want to stay in her good books, because England just has nowhere else to go.
I hope this enlightens Robert’s confusion.
EDWARD MURPHY
Ballycastle, Co Antrim
Protocol was made in Britain
In answer to Nicola Campbell (September 20) who states: “The border in the Irish Sea does not need to be there. The EU’s insistence that it remains is punishment for having the audacity to leave”, I would like to remind her that the protocol was designed by the British government and fully supported by the DUP. The problem therefore is theirs and not that of the EU.
MARY McMAHON
Portstewart, Co Derry
Centenary celebrations
Do you think Britain would join in the celebrations if Ireland, by force, put a border across England 100 years ago as Britain did in Ireland?
PETER McEVOY
Banbridge, Co Down
