Sir, – Nothing is more important to all of us in these islands than a true and lasting peace between Britain and Ireland.
In shaking hands with Gerry Adams in Galway, the Prince of Wales has surely brought the prospect of peace and reconciliation forward in the world of political reality. Hopes and dreams are all very well, but they are not in themselves sufficient. But as in the tango, so with peace. It takes two. And we must also acknowledge the courage and leadership of Gerry Adams on this historic day. – Yours, etc,
Dr GERALD MORGAN,
Dublin 2.
Sir, – I hope Prince Charles counted his fingers after his recent handshakes. – Yours, etc,
Dr JOHN DOHERTY,
Vienna.
Sir, – Coverage of Prince Charles visiting the Burren suggested to me a rare example of a man being completely happy to be caught between rocks and hard places. – Yours, etc,
TOM GILSENAN,
Dublin 9.
Sir, – The significance of Prince Charles visiting Mullaghmore is worthy of comment because it symbolises reconciliation. It may interest your readers to hear what Countess Edwina Mountbatten said in 1994. I was attending a conference, in London, about childhood death and bereavement. The conference was opened by the Countess Mountbatten, who survived the 1979 bombing at Mullaghmore. In her address she talked about the grief she suffered as a mother.
She spoke movingly about that day in Sligo Bay and the wonderful experience they were enjoying on the boat before the bomb exploded. In a very moving account of her grief, she never once mentioned the IRA or even the word murder.
She spoke of the kindness of the staff at the hospital and she said that when she was told that her father and son were among the dead, she held in her memory the image of Sligo Bay and consoled herself with that last moment of beauty before the explosion.
Afterwards, I was standing near her and seized the moment to speak with her. I told her that I was very surprised by the generosity of her words because I remembered the awful collective pain and national shame that many felt at the time. She said that Ireland had always been good to her family and she would never forget that. The action of the IRA, she said, would never change the warmth and high regard that she held for Ireland.
Long before there was a ceasefire, I was inspired by such a spirit of forgiveness and calm. I often wondered how often she repeated that sentiment over the years and what seeds it must have sown in others who like me would not have been surprised if she felt otherwise. – Yours, etc,
COLM L HUMPHRIES,
Maynooth,
Co Kildare.