Sir, - Kevin Myers has something useful to say when he talks of the squalid and brutal nature of the War of Independence, and his attacks on the cult of violence in Irish history are both useful and necessary. At the same time, I disagree with his opposition to the state funeral for Kevin Barry and the nine others executed by the British between 1919 and 1921.
If Mr Myers were a pacifist who abhorred all manifestations of militaristic violence I would have some sympathy for his position, but his attempts to rehabilitate, commemorate and celebrate those who died in the service of the British Empire demonstrate that he is entirely comfortable with certain forms of squalid, brutal killing.
Both Mr Myers and the Provisional IRA share a view of Irish history: that Barry's death 80 years ago is part of the same struggle that is going on today in Northern Ireland. In contrast to these unlikely bedfellows, I believe there is a crucial difference between these two periods. The 1918 election provided an overwhelming mandate for the creation of a republic on the island of Ireland. This was a mandate which the British government, despite its claims to have fought the first World War to defend democracy and small nations, refused to recognise.
This situation does not pertain in Northern Ireland today, where those who claim Barry's legacy have no mandate for their actions and face a British government which is willing to bend over backwards to placate the nationalist population. - Yours, etc.,
Dr Jason McElligott, St John's College, Cambridge, England.