Sir, – So, exactly 100 years after the 1916 Rising, Britain votes for independence. Ironic or what? – Yours, etc,
DERMOT O’ROURKE,
Lucan,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – I am reminded of the dog chasing the bus! Now they’ve caught it, it seems they don’t quite know what to do with it! – Yours, etc,
OLIVIA DUNNE,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Brexit may have much more dramatic consequences for this island than England and Wales, who more or less decided to drag the rest of the UK out with them. For one thing, whatever growth existed in the Border region will now evaporate, as foreign investors think twice about locating near the new frontier.
Whatever free money this Government had is now likely to shrink, putting an end to any hopes of an expansionary budget, and possibly a return to austerity, which will probably not go down well in a country that had already reacted so strongly against the previous administration’s austerity policies.
We may even have an early election. – Yours, etc,
THOMAS CREAMER,
Ballinamore,
Co Leitrim.
Sir, – Brexit has a lot to do with putting the boot into the “political classes”. Our Taoiseach’s sending of Phil Hogan to Brussels to enjoy a plum job despite having been the man who oversaw the Irish Water fiasco devalues the EU as an institution and warrants the boot for all involved in that cynical act. – Yours, etc,
HUGH DOYLE,
Dunshaughlin,
Co Meath.
Sir, – Born in London of an Irish mother and English father during the second World War and living in Dublin since 1968, I endeavoured to encourage my English relatives not to exit.
It looks like a case for returning my British passport, if Ireland will look favourably on my application for a replacement. – Yours, etc,
PHILLIP CHAMBERS,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – The Irish Government and people should hold out the hand of friendship to Scotland at this crucial moment. If Scotland sets in motion its departure from the United Kingdom, we can be its friend in Brussels and in other international organisations. An independent Scotland and the Republic of Ireland can come closer together on social, economic and even political matters. Such a practical friendship could be appealing to the people of Northern Ireland, particularly that large proportion of the population with Scottish heritage, and bring normality in that region a little closer. – Yours, etc,
PETER G KELLY,
Dublin 4.
Sir, – The exit of the UK from the EU will damage the Republic more than any of the other 26 EU nations. In order to secure Irish beef, lamb and dairy exports into the UK, as well as ensure there will be no barriers along the Border, it would be helpful for the Republic to hold a referendum about its future relations with the EU. – Yours, etc,
Lord KILCLOONEY,
Former MEP and member
of British/Irish
Parliamentary Assembly,
Mullinure,
Co Armagh.
Sir, – Brexit is the unfortunate culmination of a worrying trend in politics. Where once leaders were elected to lead, they are now incapable of pursuing anything other than vacuous popularity.
What is the point of politicians who won’t lead?
In agreeing to hold a referendum, David Cameron crippled his country to keep the Conservative Party together for five more years. In the end, it may only serve to accelerate its demise. – Yours, etc,
MATT GREGG,
Ballsbridge,
Dublin 4.
Sir, – Am I the only one outraged at president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker’s speech in recent days? The Brexit campaign was at a very critical stage. Mr Juncker’s “Out is out” speech was very unhelpful both in content and timing. It lies at the heart of the concerns held by many people in the EU about the arrogance of EU bureaucrats, an arrogance that has sadly contributed to the end of Britain’s membership of the European Union.
A sad day for Britain, a sad day for the EU, and a sad day for Ireland. – Yours, etc,
MARGARET TREANOR,
Sutton,
Dublin 13.
Sir, – A black day for Europe. The age of populism and demagoguery is well and truly upon us, from Donald Trump to Ukip. The centre is under threat and is buckling. We must passionately embrace the centre ground and with it the EU.
The EU is undoubtedly flawed but it has guaranteed peace in Europe for 70 years and made the idea of war laughable. It has united countries that for millennia were enemies and all it asks, as per Article 2 of the European Union Treaty, is respect for “human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality”, among other lofty goals.
Make no doubt about it, people everywhere lost today with Brexit. The centre ground is under attack but it is not dead. The European project will not go down without a fight. – Yours, etc,
HUGH O’DONNELL,
Sandymount,
Dublin 4.
Sir, – Look at the bright side of things, especially if you are in the flag business. The Union Jack will be a lot easier to make with the crosses of St Patrick and St Andrew deleted from it! – Yours, etc,
JOHN K ROGERS,
Rathowen,
Co Westmeath.
Sir, – Nothing left but to pick over Cameron, Corbyn and the Remains. – Yours, etc,
OLIVER McGRANE,
Rathfarnham, Dublin 16.
A chara, – As an Englishman who has lived most of his life in Ireland, the father of seven children born here, and a member of the Irish Bar, I welcome the vote of the United Kingdom to leave the anti-democratic EU.
I only hope that the Irish people living here follow the lead of the majority in the UK (including fellow Irish citizens) in voting to leave the European Union. – Is mise,
KIERON WOOD, BL
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.
Sir, – Perfidious Albion, eh? – Yours, etc,
BRIAN O’BRIEN,
Belgooly, Co Cork.
Sir, – The Brexit referendum has resulted in the possibility of Scotland and Northern Ireland being removed from the EU against their will, and independence referendums loom in both countries. Scotland and Northern Ireland have much in common historically, genetically, theologically, and in every other respect. Why not create a new country, Northern Celtland, out of Scotland and Northern Ireland? This new country would remain independent of Ireland and the UK and stay in Europe to satisfy its pro-EU stance. – Yours, etc,
GARRY BURY,
Dalkey,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – “Brexit is an English nationalist revolution” (Opinion & Analysis, June 24th). For once Fintan O’Toole and I are in agreement. – Yours, etc,
Dr GERALD MORGAN,
Dublin 2.
Sir, – To use a French saying, “Let them eat their bad food!” – Yours, etc,
TOM HARPER
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Given the age profile of the Leave voters, it contradicts the old adage, “With age comes wisdom”.– Yours, etc,
MG STOREY,
Glencar,
Sligo.
Sir, – The British exit from the European Union is a setback; however, the EU has been, and should endeavour to be, a place of diversity, of integration, of solidarity, and of peace. This may prove to be an opportunity for a more democratic and united European Union to emerge.
Nigel Farage and his colleagues might think the EU is a “failed project”, but as an Irishman studying abroad, whose family roots are found in Ireland, Scotland, England, and Germany, I beg to differ. Unity is neither failure, nor is it a “project”. It is how we move forward. – Yours, etc,
DAVID JOHNSTON,
Edinburgh.
Sir, – So the British people have spoken and have taken the decision to leave the EU. Congratulations, Britain. Donald Trump approves. You are with him now. Build a wall. – Yours, etc,
ALLAN SWEENEY,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 14.
Sir, – I followed the Brexit results on my South Korean television and Taiwanese smartphone, all the while enjoying a supper of Indian bhajis, South African lager and Californian ice-cream. Some 93 per cent of our planet’s population lives outside the EU, rising to 94 per cent on the day the UK departs.
Leave’s victory was a midsummer’s night’s dream for Eurosceptics everywhere. The EU is not a free trade area. It’s a customs union, a 1950s response to the problems of the 1930s. And it is a model copied nowhere else in the developed world.
I’m overjoyed our nearest neighbours have grasped that the future is global, not regional. – Yours, etc,
RONAN SCANLAN
Leopardstown,
Dublin 18.
Sir, – People in the UK feel disenfranchised, and this is largely due to the absence of a PR voting system. For example, in the last UK general election, Ukip polled better than the SNP and Liberal Democrats combined, yet returned only one seat, as opposed to 56 for the SNP and eight for the Liberal Democrats. So this referendum – only the third UK-wide referendum in their history – gave those “disenfranchised” voters an opportunity to at last have their voices heard, and also to inflict a “bloody nose” on the London political establishment. The pity is that EU involvement became the lightning rod to express their discontent. What now for Scotland and especially Northern Ireland, which both voted to stay, and this in the so-called era of devolution to the regions? – Yours, etc,
BRIAN ROBINSON,
Daingean,
Co Offaly.
Sir, – A great victory for the English working class. At last, a return to the willow pattern dole card. – Yours, etc,
EUGENE TANNAM
Firhouse, Dublin 24.
Sir, – Charles de Gaulle was prescient in his warning about allowing the British in. He knew their agenda was to destroy it.
The only thing about the decision to leave is that it is at least clear-cut. A narrow win for the Remainers would have produced the worst of both worlds.
Surely things cannot get much worse than having Boris in England (and Wales, but not Scotland!) and The Donald in the US. – Yours, etc,
A JONES,
Mullagh,
Co Cavan.
Sir, – One consoling thought in all this turmoil is that in about three years the political careers of Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson will have ended in disgrace when the benefits they promised from Brexit prove to be illusions. – Yours, truly,
HUGH LAVERY,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Irish politicians now need to stop whingeing about the Brexit result and start dealing with it. They have had over a year to see this coming and plan for it but, as usual, tried to just wish it away instead. Above all, our close relationship with the UK must be secured. That’s reality. Any EU interference in this regard as they seek to isolate the UK politically must be strongly resisted in the national interest. It is the EU that is now fighting for survival after all, not the UK, and they will likely fight dirty.
The question is, does the Government here have the stomach to take decisions that are in Ireland’s best interests for a change, rather than the best interests of their masters in the EU? – Yours, etc,
PETER KEATING,
Charleville,
Co Cork.
Sir, – “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” isn’t looking so “Great” after all. – Yours, etc,
TOM McELLIGOTT,
Listowel,
Co Kerry.
A chara, – Perhaps now we won’t be hearing any more guff about joining the British Commonwealth. The British are only interested in being members of clubs where they are first among equals.
Participating in a neo-feudal “old boys’ club” is very definitely not the way for Ireland to pursue international relations. – Is mise,
PAUL LINEHAN,
Howth,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – The lunatics have taken over the asylum. And David Cameron is on the ball in refusing to carry the can for them. – Yours, etc,
DENIS O’DONOVAN,
Cork.
Sir, – It is apparent that the overwhelming majority of English and Welsh voters, as opposed to the entire United Kingdom, who opted out of the EU were from disadvantaged and less wealthy towns in the midlands and the north of England, as well the rural south.
This was in stark contrast to the remain voters in the urban south and major urban population centres throughout the rest of England and Wales.
It is tragically ironic that the less well-off voted to leave the EU but have arguably benefitted the most from Britain’s membership and EU initiatives, such as the minimum wage, improved working conditions, etc, and will now be left in the hands of centre-right and right-wing politicians they supported with their votes, with no further “interference” from the EU.
If history tells us anything, the Right has never been a defender of the less wealthy or known to champion the rights of the disadvantaged. Far from it.
The pathos of that contradiction is grim indeed. – Yours, etc,
ALLAN SWEENEY,
Rathfarnham,
DUBLIN 14.
Sir, – Great blame must be placed on the bureaucracy in Europe, where self-protected public servants refused to listen to the worries of people on the ground. Being ruled by them is like being ruled by the HSE, a conglomerate that exists only for itself.
We wanted a single market, we wanted diversified markets and we wanted peace in Europe. We did not want to be cloned. – Yours, etc,
TONY FEENEY
Lucan, Co Dublin.
Sir, – Goodbye Great Britain. Hello Little England. – Yours, etc,
DECLAN KENNY,
Leixlip,
Co Kildare.
Sir, – Would it be the ultimate irony for Nigel Farage if his “UK Independence Day” leads to a UK break-up? – Yours etc,
ROBERT LAIRD,
Dublin 7.
Sir – In the Scottish Independence referendum of 2014, we were told the only way to protect our membership of the EU was to stay in the UK.
Many who made those promises are now dragging us out of the EU against our will.
Better Together? Really? – Yours, etc,
DAVID CLARKE,
Edinburgh.
Sir, – It may be time for a little Zen meditation on the Brexit decision. A disaster? A blessing? Who can tell? Breathe deeply. All things flow.– Yours, etc,
DENIS COTTER,
Middleburg,
Virginia.