Madam, – I would like to congratulate and thank both Niall Meehan and Tom Cooper for their letters (June 3rd) in relation to the murder of Kevin McDaid and the continuing sectarian persecution of Catholics in certain areas of Northern Ireland.
Sadly, comments like these are seldom seen or heard in the (Southern) Irish media, where those with the “loudest” voices mainly focus on the crimes and atrocities of the republican movement/s. It was refreshing to hear two Southern voices accurately describe the experiences that I and many Northern Catholics with no political /paramilitary affiliations have had.
In my own area of south-west Co Antrim our parish church was burnt to the ground in a sectarian arson attack and I have helped carry the coffin of my dead cousin who was murdered for having a “Catholic” name. These events took place after the IRA and loyalist “ceasefires”. These are just my experiences, many others have more, often worse experiences to describe.
As we approach the marching season, many Northern Catholics in predominantly loyalist areas will become increasingly anxious, but let us hope that we do not have a repeat of the McDaid murder.
We need more Southern voices to tell the unionist population to get their house in order – anti-Catholic sectarianism, like republican paramilitarism, must be confronted and overcome. – Yours, etc,