LETTERS Misguided on Ireland
Sir: Peregrine Worsthorne's polemic (`The real Irish nationalism', 22 June) is powerful in parts, but his gloomy assessment that nobody but Conor Cruise O'Brien has the irreverence to challenge some of the romantic myths of Irish nationalism is wide of the mark, fortunately.
A quick examination of the Irish and British papers would find, for example, sceptics such as Kevin Myers and Ruth Dudley Edwards (both of whom write for The Spectator), Eoghan Harris, Professor John A. Murphy and Ellis O'Hanlon.
The Democratic Left, whose leader, Proinsias de Rossa, is now in the Irish Cabi- net, and the Workers' Party have, in their different ways, sought to modernise atti- tudes on the national question throughout the island of Ireland.
My own organisation, a cross-party and British-Irish group, is explicitly neutral about Northern Ireland's status but cam- paigns, successfully at times, to challenge Republican myths and to urge the revision of Articles 2 and 3 of the Irish constitution.
The recent massive demonstrations of people power in the Republic which fol- lowed the Canary Wharf bomb took a clearly anti-IRA line in demanding the reinstatement of the ceasefire without pre- conditions.
The level of debate throughout these islands has been massively improved by the activities and writings of these organisa- tions and individuals. Mr Worsthorne's polemic would have greatly benefited from recognition of their contribution.
Gary Kent New Dialogue,
22 Westwood Avenue, Middlesbrough, Cleveland
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