Northern Ireland Agreement

Sir, - I can't blame Catherine Roche (April 15th) for suffering from a crisis of identity: if I'd been born in Birmingham, I'…

Sir, - I can't blame Catherine Roche (April 15th) for suffering from a crisis of identity: if I'd been born in Birmingham, I'd probably tell people I was French. However, I believe that the point of Mr Ahern's constitutional compromise is precisely that Tyrone is as Irish as Birmingham, and as British. The problem with defining Ireland's "national territory" is not a problem of including territory, but of including people, many of whom - as Ms Roche clearly demonstrates - are not particularly accommodating.

While I agree that the proposed changes to Articles 2 and 3 are unique in the world, I feel they are uniquely inclusive, and provide a model that many other troubled regions will examine with interest. Of course, if Ms Roche still objects to living in such a loosely demarcated jurisdiction, she can always go back to her own country. - Yours, etc.,

Newton Emerson

Queen Street, Portadown, Co Armagh.