MICK FINNEGAN
Madam, - David Trimble likes to present himself as a sophisticated analyst who promotes unionism as a forward thinking philosophy, linked to a modern western democracy.
The truth, however, is that he suffers from a mass of prejudices that he attempts to mask through a "superiority complex".
Trimble's ridiculous rant to the Editorial Board of the Chicago Sun Times (The Irish Times, November 18th) exposes his sectarian attitude to another Christian religion. As usual with Mr Trimble if we turn the tables we find an accurate expression his own philosophy - and that of his co-thinkers.
The head of Mr Trimble's state must not only be a Protestant, but is also the head of a church established by the state. The Orange Order (of which Mr Trimble is a member alongside the vast majority of his party) is a constituent element of the Unionist Party and makes it a point of principle to only support the sovereign if she is a Protestant. It is beyond reasonable comprehension for someone who is a member of this sectarian body to accuse anyone else of being sectarian, mono-ethnic or mono-cultural.
The state of which Mr Trimble complains, The 26-County State, has had two Protestant Presidents (Douglas Hyde and Erskine Childers), one (Mary Robinson) whose personal religious views are not known (because it is none of our business) and a current President (Mary McAleese) who sees no difficulty in openly defying the rules of her Church (in taking the Church of Ireland Eucharist).
The President is openly supported by the vast majority and, as is proper, the State itself professes no interest in the matter.
The Roman Catholic Church in the South is falling away through lack of interest as the people become more secular and pluralist in their outlook. What Mr Trimble cannot factor into his confused philosophy is that it does not make people less nationalist or indeed republican - so he ignores it.
Members of the Roman Catholic Church, who have long given up defining nationality on the basis of religion, appear to take a far more critical view of religious institutions than is the case with Protestants who are unionists (unfortunately, many see the two as synonymous). The latter are frequently heard bemoaning some unspecified threat to their religion, which requires the edifice and paraphernalia of an entire statelet, to prevent it falling asunder.
If anything the historical religious deformations of the two states in Ireland are a product of Partition (although, your average Roman Catholic who happens to be a nationalist today has generally a more tolerant outlook on life than your average Protestant who happens to be a unionist).
Mr Trimble is, at best, a petty British provincial who cannot bear to address the fact that he was born in Ireland and has an Irish accent. - Yours, etc.,
MICK FINNEGAN, Bannow Road, Cabra, Dublin 7
... ... * ... * ... * ... ... Madam,- I generally have no wish to defend Mr Trimble because his politics are certainly not mine. Of course there are reasons for an Irish state that do not rely on anti-Britishness or Roman Catholicism.
What we should all be able to admit at this stage in our history is that both nationalism and unionism in this island, as elsewhere, have often derived much of their motive power from sectarian impulses. Unionism and nationalism can be, and are, held in the abstract as pure ideals above the sectarian fray.
However, in our history religious and (purported) ethnic difference has provided much of the wind in their sails.
In the Republic, I would say, this has diminished to negligible proportions but it is true that even a decade or two ago that this was not the case. So let's not be too defensive. - Yours, etc.,
Rev JOHN SCOTT, P O Box 117-232, Taipei, Taiwan.
... ... * ... * ... * ... ... A Chara, - I take issue with David Trimble's comments to the Chicago Sun Times journalists. Mr Trimble is alleged to have said "If you took away Catholicism and anti-Britishness, the \ State doesn't have a reason to exist."
If one were to replace Irish state with Israeli state and caricature the state identity of Israel as Mr Trimble has done with Ireland, there would rightly be an international outcry. - Yours, etc.,
SHELLEY DEANE, Department of Government, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
... ... * ... * ... * ... ...
... Madam, - How on earth did David Trimble get the Nobel peace prize? - Yours, etc.,
KEITH NOLAN, Bulloch Harbour, Dalkey, Co Dublin.