Sir, - As a recent fairly returned emigrant, I am very interested in the debate on historical revisionism. It goes without saying that our country has greatly changed for the better in recent years: the Northern Ireland peace process is slowly but surely becoming more stable, our economy has boomed and our prestige on the international stage has increased as a result.
However, these facts cannot and will not change the past. As in many nations, people in our past gave their lives because they believed it necessary to bring their country closer to independence. Now, while it is very easy to look back with the benefit of hindsight and say, "Maybe they did not need to do so", we must remember that they did not have the benefit of hindsight.
Political revisionists tend to ignore this and to insult, trash and belittle our dead patriots. Why? It seems that with few bombings or violent incidents to condemn these days, they take the next logical step: feed off the "politically correct" views that some Irish people hold and use them to belittle those involved in the Easter Rising. I find it sad that some Irish people will not at least respect those who gave their lives for this country.
We live in a country with a booming economy that is becoming more international by the week. Our society will continue to change rapidly. While no one can afford to live in the past, we should not try to rewrite our history and deny our dead patriots the respect they deserve. - Yours, etc.,
Dermot Shortall, St Lawrence Road, Clontarf, Dublin 3.