Sir, - To many people, demilitarisation along the Border is as much a sticking point as is decommissioning to others. Those of us who love the Ring of Gullion area of south Armagh and north Louth would welcome the chance to walk freely over such hills as Croslieve, Camlough Mountain and Tievecrom. These hills - and others - make up the Ring of Gullion. The ring is unique in Ireland in that it is a ring-dyke around the old central volcanic core of Slieve Gullion. These tough hills surround a circular valley. It is truly a geologist's and historian's paradise.
What better way to enjoy this fascinating landscape than to be able to walk right round the hilltops of the Ring? Unfortunately this is not possible at present because of military bases on top of many of the hills. Would demilitarisation involve total dismantling of these bases? I used to hope so, but I now believe that they could be converted into rest huts for those walking the Ring who needed or wanted to stay overnight. Although they are eyesores, they could be rebuilt in a more appropriate architectural style.
These British army hilltop bases are as much part of the tangled history of south Armagh as Roche Castle or Moyry Castle. It would be a pity to obliterate any trace of them in an attempt to prettify and sanitise the landscape. Landscape is made by people and politics as much as by nature.
Converting the bases into tastefully-designed rest huts for hillwalkers offers immense tourist potential to the Ring of Gullion area, and would benefit both sides of the Ulster-Leinster borderlands. - Yours, etc.,
Philip McGuinness, Rice's Bridge, Kilkerley, Dundalk, Co Louth.