Sir, - Over the past week or so, we - and the world - have witnessed scenes of ravening hatred and obscene violence directed against tiny, terrified girls on their way to their first day in school in Ardoyne - scenes we had hoped had gone for ever in Northern Ireland at this stage. One can only despair.
But questions came to mind. What if the school involved were a non-denominational or multi-faith establishment? Would the same sickening events have occurred? Am I na∩ve to think that children of all faiths (or none) who share the fellowship of the schoolroom and the camaraderie of the playground will be far less likely to accept the sectarian shibboleths and triumphalist ravings of their elders, and more open to recognising that classmates of differing faiths look extraordinarily like themselves, feel the same pains, laugh at the same jokes, and can freely put their arms about each other's shoulders to comfort or console?
Over the years, any attempt to further integrate schooling in this island of ours has met with instant and implacable opposition from the institutional church authorities. It is not too fanciful to suggest that such obdurate behaviour on their part has been a major cause of the bitter divide in the Northern community, along with the terrible cost in lives and happiness over the past 30 years.
Communal schooling is not a panacea for the dreadful sickness at the heart of Northern Ireland, but it may well be a necessary first step towards dealing with it, once and for all. For God's sake, can it not be given a try? - Yours, etc.,
David Grant, Mount Pleasant, Waterford.