Party and religion
Sir: Your correspondence about bringing British national parties into the Northern Ireland arena raises the question, 'Who and how many are the Catholic unionists in the Province?' Equally intriguing is the question, 'Who and how many are the Protestant nationalists in Ireland?'.
Some of the greatest heroes of the Irish nationalist, tradition were Protestants — Robert Emmet, Wolfe Tone, Henry Grat- tan and Charles Stuart Parnell among them. In the present century bright Protes- tant lights of Irish nationalism included Douglas Hyde (founder of the Gaelic League), Roger Casement, George Russell (AE) and the Englishman Erskine Chil- ders. Irish Roman Catholics and Protes- tants were prominent on both sides in the debates over Union in 1801 and over Home Rule in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
So history tells us that there must be Protestant nationalists and Roman Catho- lic unionists in Northern Ireland. Common sense tells us that there must also be conservative nationalists and left-of-centre unionists. Altogether quite a sizeable frac- tion of the population is unable to vote for its convictions.
The identification of party politics with sectarian religion has been the curse of Ireland, especially of the North. Anything that can be done to lessen it, whether by inter-religious education or by the entry of national non-religious parties or by other means, should be applauded by all who wish that country well.
H. V. Hodson
Flat 1, 105 Lexham Gardens, London W8
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