Madam, – John A Murphy (June 26th) stated “Deputy Ó Caoláin should be reminded that the Brits are in fact his party’s unionist colleagues in the Assembly and the Executive”.
Perhaps Mr Murphy needs to be reminded that Irish people in the six counties are part of the sovereign Irish nation – as distinct from “the sovereign republic”.
In the first article of its Constitution, the Irish nation affirms its inalienable, indefeasible, and sovereign right to national self-determination. However, under the Belfast Agreement, Irish people in the six counties remain subject to British sovereignty. A situation Mr Murphy calls “this sensible compromise”. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The welcome news that Queen Elizabeth II is likely to visit Ireland in 2011 (Front Page, June 24th) represents the ideal opportunity for Ireland to reverse the decision to leave the Commonwealth in 1949. The Commonwealth in 2010 is quite a different organisation from the one that we left and exists in a global context barely recognisable from that which pertained over 60 years ago.
It is a voluntary association of 54 independent nations based on promoting the values of democracy, freedom and peace. Its member nations are home to two billion individuals and include three European Union member states, five of the G20 countries that met in Canada at the weekend and a number of the fastest growing and dynamic nations on the planet. As has been noted by proponents of rejoining the Commonwealth, the majority of member nations are republics like our own and several million of its citizens are of Irish descent. Indeed, the relationship between the governments and peoples of Ireland and the United Kingdom is arguably closer than that between any two existing Commonwealth members.
In announcing Queen Elizabeth’s invitation, Brian Cowen noted “It is timely now that we move on in this relationship” between our two nations. What better way to acknowledge this development than to formally rejoin the friendly family of nations during next year’s official State visit? This would be indicative of the confidence and ability of our State to genuinely “move on” from the wrongs and injustices of the past and, to return to the theme of your recent series of thought provoking opinion pieces, to contribute to a genuine and meaningful renewal of our Republic. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I have no major issues regarding Queen Elizabeth’s planned visit to the Republic, or with Elma Collins’s suggested removal of the harp from the royal insignia, but as an Ulster/Irish man I find her proposal to replace it with the “unionist pleasing” Red Hand more than a tad disconcerting.
The Red Hand is an ancient Irish symbol which dates back long before the plantations, and while some pro-British paramilitaries may have adopted it in the recent past, it is most certainly not a unionist symbol. Members of the Keane and O’Sullivan families from the far south of Ireland may be surprised to discover the Red Hand plays a prominent role in their family coat of arms as it does for many other non-Ulster families. – Yours, etc,