Belcoo Republican misses the point

Editorial Department • Published 4 Mar 2010 12:49 Comments 1 Comment

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Dear Sir, - I would publically like to respond to the Belcoo Republican who last week in your paper raised issues with my "Children handing out Bobby Sands leaflets" letter the week before. It is obvious that Belcoo Republican missed the point of my letter completely. I was trying to state the point that young people should have better things to do with their time than get involved in old repetitive Irish politics.

You raise interesting points in your letter, but I can assure you, I do not agree with anything you stated. In my opinion, and indeed the opinion of most in Northern Ireland, Bobby Sands, Francis Hughes and any other gunman, are not patriots. They became involved in a bitter sectarian war that was unwanted by the majority of the people.

It is thanks to the Sinn Fein propaganda machine that these men were considered heroes by some, but when you scratch beneath the surfaces you will find that they were nothing more that terrorists, hell bent on destroying anything that did not suit their sectarian viewpoint.

It would have been better for these men to become involved in other methods of changing the situation without picking up a gun. You state that I would be best researching my information before putting pen to paper, I would also suggest that you do the same thing.

I will say that speaking of the pursuit of Irish Freedom is ridiculous in this day and age. You live in one of the most free and democratic countries in the world. The government of the Republic of Ireland could simply not afford Northern Ireland and that is fact. If Ireland was to be united tomorrow, it would plunge the entire island into a deeper economic mess than there is at present. I am not a Unionist or Nationalist, but I am a realist and I do know that it is better for the people of Northern Ireland if we maintain our link with the Union. The cost of living in the Republic of Ireland is very expensive and indeed that is why we get so many southern shoppers in Enniskillen and other border towns.

To this very day the majority of the population of Northern Ireland want to remain part of Britain, and in the Republic of Ireland today the idea of a United Ireland to most is "fragile" to say the least. Any attachments to the idea of a United Ireland would disappear quickly when it starts to affect the average wage, you think the creidt crunch is bad, that would be three times worse. We have, for the most, achieved a peace process, we must try to live properly together and forget the demons of the past, let's make Northern Ireland a better place to live for everyone and forget these outdated ideals.

Disgruntled

Enniskillen Man.

This letter appeared in Impartial Reporter 04 Mar 10

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Madmax
Unregistered User
Mar 5, 11:20
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I would share your sentiments about Bobby Sands and company. They were, in my humble opinion, marxist terrorists, and are not worthy of any admiration. I am share many people share the sick feeling I get when I see these men honoured for what they did, only we are too afraid to express it in public.

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