A chara, - Sam Foster sets out the case for "flying the union flag" in Northern Ireland (May 22nd) with admirable clarity. But I doubt whether many nationalists will be persuaded to accept it. The problem (no small one, admittedly) is to find symbols that are acceptable to all parties to the Good Friday Agreement.
I wonder whether the flag of St Patrick might serve as such a symbol. It is after all the Irish element in the Union flag and seemed to be acceptable to supporters of Ulster from all sides of the community at Lansdowne Road last year for the final of the European Cup against Colomiers.
If we are able to reach agreement on the way forward to peace and reconciliation, then surely we ought to be able to reach agreement on how to represent that agreement. And if St Patrick cannot unite Irish men and women in the cause of peace (both Irish/Irish and Irish/British), then I am at a loss to know who can. Perhaps that is because I am an Englishman. - Is mise,
Gerald Morgan, FTCD, Trinity College, Dublin 2.