Sir, – Surprising as it may be to Anthony Farrell (Letters, November 24th) gerrymandering or “a weighted majority” as he prefers to call it, is not fondly remembered in the six counties.
– Yours, etc,
PAUL LAUGHLIN,
An Chúil Mhór,
:fill(white):background_color(white)/static.themebuilder.aws.arc.pub/irishtimes/1647534191476.png)
Doire.
Sir, – It might be helpful if those wishing to talk about a united Ireland would clarify what precisely they mean by the term. Do they mean integrating Northern Ireland into the Republic while retaining the Tricolour and National Anthem?
Or do they wish to unite the people of the island, in peace and harmony, in a shared home place, as favoured by John Hume and Seamus Mallon?
An equally relevant question is, to whom do they wish to speak? If it’s to the unionist population, I suspect they would be advised to forget the first approach. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL O’DWYER,
Cork.
Sir, – Wishful thinking that a united Ireland will bring about the modern democracy Fr Joe McVeigh (Letters, November 24th) envisages has been playing on the minds of nationalists for as long as I can remember.
My own father used say he would die a happy man if it happened in his lifetime. It didn’t, and it is highly unlikely to happen in my lifetime either.
By not even mentioning the one million unionists who are, in the main, implacably opposed to unity, Fr McVeigh seems to dismiss their right to remain British and proud of it.
If a nationalist solution is imposed by whatever means, other than the inclusion of a willing majority of unionists, the result would almost certainly see a return to violence on a scale similar to that of the 1970s. We would then be united in grief.
– Yours, etc,
NIALL GINTY,
Killester,
Dublin 5.
Sir, – The Brexit fiasco and the denial of various rights in the North, which are taken for granted across western Europe, has again exposed the fact that a divided island does not serve the needs of our people in 2021. Partition is a huge obstacle to building a modern, open and forward-looking society with a dynamic economy.
Irish unity is back at the centre of political discussion. A referendum on a united Ireland is a key provision of the Good Friday Agreement. We are entering a defining period in Irish political history.
There is a live and growing conversation underway about Irish unity and the need to start planning for constitutional change and what a new Ireland would look like. It is vital that the Government starts living up to its responsibilities in leading this discussion. It needs now to start planning for future constitutional change.
The most important first step is to establish a Citizens’ Assembly to discuss what a united Ireland might look like and how best we can manage a smooth transition. – Yours, etc,
TONY McDARBY,
Blanchardstown,
Dublin 15.