Sir, – The return of power-sharing in Northern Ireland this week after a two-year absence will be welcomed across these islands.
It reconvenes a key strand of the Belfast Agreement and provides representation for the people of Northern Ireland at a critical time.
The tangible welcome by both nationalist and unionist communities to its return is testament to the importance of the embedded institutions and the exclusively peaceful means of decision making now normalised for people living there.
We remember and celebrate that there are generations of young people, 600,000 born since the Belfast Agreement’s inception 26 years ago, that have known only peace and stability. The challenges facing the new Northern Ireland Executive are considerable, with health, public services and industrial relations key priorities for an electorate starved of representation.
The restoration of Stormont is an opportunity to reset British-Irish relations and invigorate those institutions that have delivered peace since the 1998 Belfast Agreement – a high-water mark for bilateral relations and leadership so cherished by the Irish community in Britain.
The visits by the Taoiseach and British prime minister to Stormont are symbolic and important, challenges notwithstanding. We wish both the First Minister and Deputy First Minister and the new Executive well in fulfilling their important new roles. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN DALTON,
CEO,
Darren Murphy,
Chairperson,
Irish in Britain,
Haringey Community Centre,
London.
A chara, – By accepting the position of First Minister, has Sinn Féin now become a pro-Treaty party after a 104 years of opposition to the establishment of the state of Northern Ireland?
Maybe it is an acceptance by the party leadership that the dream of a united Ireland is unattainable in the foreseeable future. – Is mise,
SEÁN MÍCHEÁL Ó DOMHNAILL,
Ard an Rátha,
Co Dhún na nGall.