Sir, - Martin O'Grady (August 14th) says that both Irish republicanism and British unionism constitute "a perfectly reasonable set of aspirations." The idea that every group cherishing a distinct identity deserves its own nation state is fairly recent, historically.
It can be a harmless idea if the groups already live in different territories. When they don't it can lead to the absurd notion that, as Mr O'Grady suggests, they must be moved about to produce tidy frontiers. Recent events in former Yugoslavia show the lengths to which this kind of thinking can be carried. Can the people of Northern Ireland do no better than to uproot themselves in the name of national identity?
The EU points the way to a Europe in which every nationality is a minority, and all are citizens of a broader entity. Perhaps a century after this evolution is completed, residents of the north eastern corner of Ireland will realise that both London and Dublin have become irrelevant. - Yours, etc.,
West 87th Street,
New York, NY 10024, US.