Sir, – Despite what the Constitution says, Edward Burke (November 2nd) holds that it is preposterous to claim that "a 26-county state constitutes Ireland". I believe it is no less preposterous that, despite what geography says, the six-county entity calls itself "Northern Ireland".
Why should many of its people take offence when “Ireland” is used for three-quarters of the island, when “Ulster” is often used semi-officially for only two-thirds of that province?
The problem that has never been solved is that “Ireland’s political division” does not and never did coincide with the border drawn in 1920. We’ll just have to continue to muddle through with the informal labels “the South, the North, the Republic” cited by James Carroll (also November 2nd). – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL DRURY,
Avenue Louise,
Brussels, Belgium.