It would be foolish to accept an Irish identity

Yes Ben Lowry ('˜What I said to SF conference on Irish unity,' July 1) was correct to point out to the Sinn Fein conference the impact of their violence in 1916 and 1969 to 1998.

However perhaps his analysis did not go deep enough.

At every significant point in the Irish nationalist narrative the Protestant ‘Planter’ has provided the convenient scapegoat and victim – the massacres of 1641, the Attainders of 1689, the sectarian killings in the south in 1798 and the more recent and more familiar Kingsmills, Darkley and border genocide campaign.

How foolish, indeed how self-denigrating, would it be for us to accept an Irish identity.

Indeed why would we want to unite with the only state in Europe which helped to create a terrorist organisation to attack ìts neighbour?

If anyone doubts that we are not Irish I suggest they carefully study the celebrations of national identity which will take place on the 12th Juĺy.

The observer will note the absence of any tributes to any of the figures or events lauded by Sinn Fein or their fellow travellers.

The fact that our identity as a people is devoid of any of the icons of Irish nationalism is the unavoidable proof that we are not Irish, that the Irish nation has no claim on us or our country.

Robert Wallace, Portadown