Madam, – Gordon Kennedy suggests that certain leaders should not be addressed by their titles if they are undemocratically obtained (April 15th). I would suggest that Mr Kennedy address these people in whatever manner he chooses when he meets them. I would also suggest that those who wish to address them by their preferred titles are also entitled to do so.
As for me, I remain singularly unexcited about these visitors, but in the event that I do meet any of them, I would extend to them the “céad míle fáilte” which is so lacking in Mr (or should I say Dr?) Kennedy’s letter. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Paul Griffin (April 15th) refers to Matt Doyle’s description of the “undemocratic partition of Ireland” and wonders “how exactly is this undemocratic?” The reason the partition of Ireland was undemocratic is because before partition, there was no such statelet as “Northern Ireland”. In the contemporary general election Sinn Féin won over 70 per cent of the Irish vote. This was ignored by the British government and under the threat of immediate military action by the British the Irish side were forced to sign the Treaty which partitioned the country, against the wishes of the majority in the whole of Ireland. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – In reference to the partition of Ireland, Paul Griffin inquires “How exactly is this undemocratic?” (April 15th).
Quite simply, partition was undemocratic because the people of Ireland were never offered the opportunity to vote on it. If it had been put to a public vote, it would undoubtedly have been rejected by the majority of Irish people (it was not even particularly popular among unionists at the time).
While partition was effectively accepted by the Irish people in referendums on the Belfast Agreement, accepting a long-established status quo in the interests of ending decades of violence is not the same thing as voting in favour of partition in the first place.
Mr Griffin is correct that the majority of people in what is now called Northern Ireland are happy to live under British rule. However, the borders of Northern Ireland were specifically chosen to ensure there was a safe unionist majority among its population. There is nothing democratic about manipulating political boundaries in order to artificially create a majority. Two of the six counties of Northern Ireland had clear nationalist majorities at the time of partition, and based on recent voting patterns, it seems only two of the six counties have unionist majorities now. In other words, people living in counties Armagh, Derry, Fermanagh and Tyrone have to accept continued British rule simply because a couple of more populous neighbouring counties have unionist majorities.
I would ask Mr Griffin, how exactly is this democratic? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – In connection with the forthcoming visit of Queen Elizabeth to Ireland, it has been mentioned that only a member of the Anglican communion can accede to the throne of England.
Purely for the record (and not because I have any problem about the visit), I note that in addition, no person in the line of succession may ever marry a Catholic without forfeiting that right. (The queen’s cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, forfeited his place in the lines of succession on his marriage to the Austrian baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz, who is a Catholic).
This restriction applies only to the Catholic faith – all other religions apparently being acceptable.
This being the 21st century, hopefully it will not be too much longer before this unjust an discriminatory law is repealed. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – It’s great to see the repair work finally beginning this week on the damaged surface of Chesterfield Avenue in the Phoenix Park. The effort is nicely timed considering the impending visits of Queen Elizabeth II and President Barack Obama to our shores in May when, no doubt, each will pay a courtesy call to the President in Áras an Uachtaráin. It’s worth noting, however, that the little people have had an entire winter of this – and other – bad roads. – Yours, etc,