A chara, – As a proud Irishman I was disconcerted to hear my five-year-old son recently tell me that we didn't live in Ireland, we lived in Northern Ireland. A fact gleaned from his (rationed) Playstation football activities. Joe Coy's letter (October 29th) reinforced this obsession with terminology.
Recent events in Belfast reinforce the value of symbols and terminology in Irish life. I perceive the current state in Southern Ireland (including the island’s most northern part) as the Republic of Ireland. The Ireland referred to in the Constitution is the island which we as an Irish nation wish to see (peacefully and with consent) politically reunited.
I am not a legal expert, but I do not believe the will of the Irish people is for the people of the north east six counties to be refused the privilege of describing themselves as Irish or saying they are from “Ireland”. – Yours, etc,
PAUL O’NEILL,
Muskett Crescent,
Carryduff,
Co Down.