Polly Toynbee (Come to parliament, Sinn Féin, as saviours of Ireland – and Britain, 1 March) aggrandises the former political wing of a paramilitary group. There is undoubtedly merit to her suggestion that Sinn Féin should take their seats in Westminster, as has been suggested by the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar. However, to claim as Ms Toynbee does that they would do so as “a cavalry of saviours of Ireland” or “noble deliverers of their nation” amounts to an undeserved recognition of their right to speak for the island, and is a tacit acknowledgment of their scandalous claim to be democratic Óglaigh na hÉireann (“Irish volunteers”, and the title used by the truly democratic defence forces of Ireland today). Brexit will undoubtedly be harmful to Ireland, but a far greater injustice would be done if this proud republic were persuaded to accept Sinn Féin as its legitimate international representatives.Ireland’s only “heroes” in this negotiation are Michel Barnier and his team in the European Union, who have steadfastly stuck by their commitments to the Irish people.
Oscar Despard
Dublin
• Could we please knock this one on the head? Does any reasonable person think that “republicans on both sides of the border” would be justified in resuming their terrorism because there was a “hard border” between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland? Of course not. How could a requirement to provide documents when taking pigs from Donegal to Larne be a sufficient cause to kill anyone? We wouldn’t give any credence to anyone who advocated that the UK’s trade policy should depend on the say-so of a group of far right extremists threatening death if they didn’t get their way, would we? That’s the situation, mutatis mutandis. (That the potential terrorists might get aid and comfort from some elected representatives makes no difference.)
Andrew Anderson
Edinburgh
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