A chara, – Now that an invitation has been extended to the Queen of England to visit the Republic, the following questions need to be asked. Is the English queen personally interested in visiting the Republic of Ireland? Why is she interested? Or is it a diplomatic visit the UK government wants her to make despite her not caring too much? What is the purpose of her visit? Is it essential that she visits? What difference does this visit make? Will she acknowledge Irish sovereignty and acknowledge/apologise for the hurt England caused Ireland and still causes? Will she lay a wreath at the graves of the 1916 leaders in Arbour Hill as did John F Kennedy during his visit? If it was good enough for the first American presidential trip to Ireland, should it not be good enough for the first visit by the head of state of England?
I am firmly of the opinion that this invitation should be revoked, as the queen of England is the head of state of the UK which controls part of Ireland. The majority of the people of Ireland wish to see an end to the UK’s control over Ireland. Would France have extended an invitation to Adolf Hitler during the second World War to visit France on a state visit, considering Germany occupied half of France? We need to be honest about the relationship between Ireland and Britain. Ireland does not control a part of Britain; Britain controls a part of Ireland. If we are to have a genuine relationship it must be based on freedom and respect.
Ireland can never have a proper normal relationship with Britain until Ireland is completely free. When that happens, it will be right to have official visits by the head of state of the UK.
As a member of Fianna Fáil, I will be opposing this visit and I would encourage all other members of Fianna Fáil to oppose it likewise. Fianna Fáil should offer leadership to such opposition so that it remains dignified and peaceful. – Is mise,
Madam, – Who could disagree with Dennis Kennedy (March 8th) regarding the necessity for a renaming of the State? Article 4 of the Constitution states, “The name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland”. Notwithstanding the lugubriousness, it was logical when, wisely or otherwise, Article 2 stated that, “The national territory consists of the whole island of Ireland, its islands and the territorial seas”.
Since the Belfast Agreement, the only reference to territory in the Constitution, is that contained in Article 10.2, “All land and all mines, minerals and waters which belonged to Saorstát Éireann immediately before the coming into operation of this Constitution belong to the State to the same extent as they then belonged to Saorstát Éireann”.
At present, our State consists of the Twenty Six counties. I recently sighted documentation emanating from a government minister’s office which referred to “. . . the price differential between Ireland and Northern Ireland”.
Whether or not there is to be a referendum in respect of any other matter, we now need a referendum to change the name of the State to, “The Republic of Ireland” or whatever is decided as correct and appropriate.
Just another mess from our highly paid, sleepwalking, poltroons. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I am not sure what all the fuss is about over the forthcoming visit of Queen Elizabeth to our country, given that we have by now happily embraced the British way of life.
For example, on a typical Saturday, we will probably shop on our “High Street”, which is close to being a replica of its British counterpart. Later, we will either watch or listen to a commentary of a British soccer match, (a few will struggle to find a station with an alternative).
In the evening, we will probably tune into one of the mostly British TV stations which we willingly subscribe to, and on the following morning we will eagerly rummage through the many British newspapers stacked high in our local shop before making our selection. – Yours, etc,