Canadian sense of self-awareness has Ulster equivalent

No-one who has visited the Canadian National Memorial at Vimy Ridge could be in any doubt as to the significance of the capture of the ridge to Canadian self-awareness as a distinct people (Vimy ridge on a par with Battle of Somme for nation of Canada, April 10).

By The Newsroom

Published 12th Apr 2017, 15:55 BST

Updated 9th May 2017, 18:42 BST

The glaringly obvious question to be asked is why Ulster should be viewed differently?

The resistance to Home Rule arose from the centuries old sectarian anti-Protestantism which lies at the heart of Irish nationalism, the 36th Division, named the Ulster Division at Carson’s request, was composed largely of men who signed the Ulster Covenant.

They, like the Canadians achieved great feats in the war and the Ulster Tower, dedicated to the memory of Ulstermen, was the first memorial completed on the western front.

It is long overdue but we should be prepared to echo the words of Major Fred Crawford of Clydevalley fame “I would be ashamed to call myself an Irishman. Thank God I am not one. I am an Ulsterman, a totally different breed”

Robert Wallace, Portadown

Ulster