Sir, - Does a united Ireland mean exactly the same thing to everyone? I, for instance, take the view that Ireland has never been anything else. I would never concede the right of a minority, or even a majority, to cut off a slice and confront hundreds of thousands of Irish men, women and children with the choice of either jumping overboard or switching their allegiance. However, neither would I want to force those whose allegiance is elsewhere to abandon their own loyalties.
What I want to see, before much more of my life has passed, is a determined, constructive endeavour to find a way for both a united Ireland and a United Kingdom to co-exist as distinct entities, with all the people of Ireland completely at ease in their citizenship of one or the other according to choice.
We see here in Dublin many embassies, their grounds recognised as the territories of France, Germany, United States, United Kingdom, etc. We see also many modern apartment complexes in which individuals and families reside, each as the full owner of his, her or their own dwelling, but also sharing common areas such as halls, stairways, gardens and car-parks, and contributing to the upkeep and management of these areas.
Is there not a model there for Ireland in the modern world? Is it futile to hope that some such endeavour is in progress in Stormont? I must also add that I deplore the attitude of what appears to be a growing number of my fellow-countrymen and women. They abuse the good fortune which placed them on the "right" side of the slice, and stamp on the fingers of those reaching over from the other side in an attempt to cling on. They need to be brought to their patriotic senses. Are they sure that a majority could not be found to support a measure whereby anyone who voiced such sentiments would have his or her passport withdrawn until the grievous contempt of citizenship has been purged? - Yours, etc., Frank Farrell,
Lakelands Close,
Stillorgan,
Co. Dublin.