Sir, - Dr Aidan Rankin's remarks about the lack of Eurosceptics among the Irish political classes (June 22nd) was, I felt, both patronising and uninformed. As he correctly noticed, Irish people who are not in favour of membership of the EU are in the minority. There are many good reasons for this, our current economic success being the most obvious one.
The endearing term "Eurosceptic" is, I believe, a curious creation of the British media. The British public and British establishment display an unashamedly post-colonial attitude towards Europe. At the heart of the British antipathy is the fact that the thought of being dictated to by the French and the Germans appals them. It is undoubtedly in Ireland's best interest to be a fully committed member of the EU. To suggest that this somehow entails surrendering our sovereignty or our national identity is simply scaremongering.
Finally, for Dr Rankin to compare Ireland's quest for independence from Britain with our membership of the EU displays an astonishing lack of understanding of Irish history. Let us hope that if Ireland was afflicted by famine today, we could count on our European neighbours for assistance. - Yours, etc.,
Mark O'Connor, Rathdown Square, Phibsboro, Dublin 7.