Fewer Union flags. More Catholics

THE READERS:What you've said on irishtimes.com this week

Peace is a fragile plant that needs careful nurturing

On Monday John Cushnahan, former leader of the Alliance Party (1984-87), and a former Fine Gael MEP, wrote: “We cannot afford to be complacent about the situation in Northern Ireland. It is true that remarkable progress has been made in Northern Ireland – as illustrated by what is happening in the corridors of power. Unfortunately the situation is totally different on the ground.”

Very good article. There has always been a large majority in Northern Ireland who simply wanted to get on with a normal society. The pandering to the tribal leanings of the minorities at the extremes must cease; how, for example, has Belfast City Hall flown a national flag as opposed to its own city standard for all these years?

This week's nonsense over a flag, like the issues cited as excuses for the riots in July, are no excuse for young people to engage in criminality. Those old enough to know the consequences of a criminal record for those young people should clearly spell out the life-changing impact of becoming one of the apprehended few: barring them from countless careers, including defence of the realm. KevinKelehan

Economics are key here and inequality and its attendant oppression and injustice, if allowed to flourish in Northern Ireland, will reactivate the barely suppressed, atavistic, programmed intuitive views of both sides of the community towards each other. Late improvements in material circumstances have helped ameliorate these, so as to allow reasoned, objective, mental processing, which is necessarily slower in its formulations than the familiar knee-jerk gut reactions of hate and suspicion, to prevail.

The hatred is bone-deep and atavistic on both sides. It is reflexive, whereas peace is reflective, arising from growing economic equality; generous state support; material comfort. Without economic supports reducing inequality, people will revert to their ancient biases and prejudices. DergootYooden

It’s not about hate, etc. Most people get on fine – republicans, loyalists, whoever . . . The issue at hand is the insistence of a tiny Protestant minority on the domination of the entire public space through flags, emblems, marches and ultimately violence and intimidation.

Most Protestants have nothing but contempt for the fascistic nature of these people but, like the rest of us, are too intimidated to do anything about it.

As for money, well that won’t solve it. Go look at much of the public housing in Belfast. People in the South would pay hundreds of thousands for similar living. It will become a historical curiosity when it is faced down as the dominant force on the streets.

It must be made illegal to fly any flag or emblem from any structure other than your own house (and I include the Tricolour in there as well). Turpington

Unionists must heed numerical rise of Catholics

The Irish Times Northern Editor, Gerry Moriarty, wrote on Wednesday about the North’s 2011 census results: “Unionist politicians can take some comfort that just 25 per cent of the population consider themselves solely Irish. But unionist politicians can also do the arithmetic. If there are 864,000 people from a Protestant background and 810,000 from a Catholic background, then they should know it’s in their interests to keep on side those Catholics who are happy with the current powersharing that recognises Irish identity.”

This article completely bypasses one of the major causes of the fall in the proportion of Protestants in Northern Ireland: Protestant teenagers are more likely to head to the mainland for university and, more often than not, they make their home there.

This is evident at Queen’s University, where the majority of students are Catholic. Having attended a so-called “Protestant” grammar school in NI (it was nondenominational), the majority of my fellow pupils went to university in Scotland or England.

This is likely to change as a result of the hike in tuition fees at British universities. The fees for universities in NI are now around half the level of their mainland counterparts. I would predict that many of those young people who would have gone to uni in GB will choose not to do so as it is now prohibitively expensive compared with staying in NI. rdv812

I think a lot of “republicans” continue to nurse hopes that they can achieve the Ireland they dream of by the strategy of ethnosectarian outbreeding. I would think Tone, for one, must be turning in his grave at the idea that that is how his kind of Ireland might be finally achieved.

As for Belfast and the flag, surely the democracy of which Moriarty speaks would have been best served by a consultation in advance of any move on the display of the flag over city hall? pfconn

'Misunderstood' loyalists given too much leeway

Pol Ó Muirí in an opinion piece on Thursday wrote: "The decision of Belfast City Council not to fly the union flag every day of the year is used as a pretext. The council will still fly the union flag, you understand, but just not every day, and the loyalist leadership whines that it cannot control its followers, as if they were disappointed scout masters rather than the hard-bitten thugs they are."

With both sides indulging in intimidation and exclusion, is there any prospect for real integration here? Look at the changes in Europe in the past 50 years. The segregated education is a major issue. It has to be reformed. Look at the . . . mob for hire during the "Love Ulster March" and the Queen's
visit. These underclass youngsters are a powder keg. We have to do something to help them become useful, productive citizens. They are entitled to our best efforts. NoelWalsh

Ah yes, of course, only loyalists ever rioted, only loyalists ever threw violent tantrums when they felt they weren't getting their own way, only loyalists threatened their neighbours and people of different political opinions, only loyalists murdered people, only loyalists were responsible for the sickening tribal violence that scarred the North for 40 years. It was all the loyalists' fault, always themmuns. We were always the victims so we were. I don't think I have ever read such a ridiculously one-sided article on the Troubles in all my life. Even An Phoblacht couldn't have matched it. MichaelHills

"Northern Irish is becoming a new identity." This is absolutely the way to go. The irony of a poor working-class loyalist singing to God to save a woman who, along with her extended (not even English) family, live a life of luxury and privilege paid for by the working-class loyalist's tax money, while fighting endlessly with his working-class nationalist neighbour, has got to be the most ironic twist of historical fate I've ever come across. flinders3