Sir, – I celebrate the rise in applications for Irish citizenship from people born in Britain but having roots in Ireland ("UK rush for Irish passports 'brought on by Brexit fears'", March 4th). Each new Irish citizen honours not only their parents and grandparents who had to migrate, often for economic reasons, but also the men and women who fought during the Easter Rising and the subsequent War of Independence.
As a result of those sacrifices, it is possible to assert the right to be Irish and European. However, it is not yet possible to have Scottish or Welsh citizenship, and therefore assert the same right to be European if England votes No but Scotland and Wales say Yes.
In the centenary year of the Rising, Brexit could lead the way to peaceful Scottish and Welsh independence. – Yours, etc,
SEAN O’DONOVAN,
London.