Sir, - The two final paragraphs of Brian Maye's reassessment of the 1921 Treaty negotiations (October 12th) suggest steps which might usefully be taken now. After the Treaty was signed, Birkenhead and Chamberlain stated openly that these two counties (Fermanagh and Armagh) preferred to be united with the rest of Ireland . . . Had (the Treaty) been quickly ratified. . . the new boundary commission could have met immediately, in an atmosphere of goodwill between the two islands."
The net result would probably not have been unity, and the reduced Northern Ireland might have been strengthened by being more homogeneous, but the transfer of largely nationalist areas in the South would have made a partition much fairer. Sadly this is not what happened."
How timely, then, to find from Karlin Lillington's `Mapping out the North' (Computertimes October 14th) that the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland has provided all the geographical information on CD-Rom - introducing census data. All that remains is to ask each individual in the area which flag he or she prefers. That would give a more practical basis for outlining a readjusted border than does haggling of parties about who should sit around a table. - Yours, etc.,
Whitechurch Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14.
P.S. It does not seem that semi-historical country boundaries should have more influence than people's choices.