A chara, – During his debate at the Féile an Phobail conference in Belfast, the Taoiseach spoke of "a new constitution" and singled out the Irish language as being in some way unsuitable as the State's official language in a unified all-Ireland state ("A united Ireland would be a 'different state', says Varadkar" warns", News, August 7th).
So the first step in making unionists comfortable in a new Ireland is to throw our language under the bus? By saying what he said, our unionist friends don’t even have to look for the removal of Irish from affairs of state – it’s been handed to them on a plate. And the Anglicisation of Ireland continues. I wonder, are we preparing for unionists to join us, or are we rejoining them? – Is mise,
PHIL DUNPHY,
Fermoy,
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Co Cork.
Sir, – Leo Varadkar’s warnings that a united Ireland would require a new constitution on the grounds it would be a different state, while legitimate, misses the opening of a unique opportunity.
It is clear from looking at constitutional matters addressed over the past five or six years, that our Constitution, originally penned in 1937, is woefully out of date and no longer fit for purpose for today’s Ireland.
The formation of a new state and the crafting of a new constitution would therefore be an excellent opportunity to start with a blank slate, and clear away all the antiquated and obsolete sections, and start anew.
It would also be a good opportunity to do away with the awful practice of “introducing legislation via the constitution”, and revert to the fundamental law needed for a modern 21st-century liberal state. That document could be an example to the world. – Yours, etc,
EVAN
BYRNE,
London.