A chara, - Stephen King, adviser to David Trimble, believes that the culture of Northern Ireland is more strongly influenced by Scotland than by the Republic (The Irish Times, April 26th). Although Mr King has not said it, I would maintain that this influence applies considerably more to the unionist people than to nationalists in Northern Ireland.
What a shame that this influence has not resulted in unionists following the Scottish example of actively asserting their sense of nationality independent of that of an English-dominated UK. As Scotland makes use of her devolved parliament to shape a Scottish state and moves towards more complete independence, Northern unionists stymie attempts to install the same in Northern Ireland, preferring direct rule from Westminster.
Unionists appear to define themselves as British first and Irish as a distant second - also in stark contrast to their Scottish cultural cousins. Should Scotland, however, secede from the UK, this homogenous notion of Britishness will mean less and less and unionists will have to face the fact that they have failed to develop their identity much beyond that of a coloniser. It is in their own best interests that they now adopt the approach of unionists in the Republic at the foundation of the State, affirm their sense of Irishness - to which they have an equal claim with everyone else on this island - and stop defining their own nationality purely in terms of that of a neighbouring island. - Is mise,
Jonathan Blake, St Mark's Apartments, City Road, London EC1.