Letter: David McNarry is wrong, there have always been liberals and moderates within unionism
A letter from Jack Irwin:
The one-time prime minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Terence O’Neill, could most definitely have been described as ‘liberal’, certainly in terms of unionism at the time, so I think it is wrong of David McNary to suggest that unionists in general and in particular UUP members now don’t include those with ‘liberal’ tendencies (‘True unionists know exactly who they are – many are moderate, but few, if any, consider themselves liberal,’ January 10).
There is no disqualifying element between unionism and liberalism necessarily, it’s not that simple.
Another description of liberalism in this context is of course moderate, which is the word used over the years to describe those with less extreme views on the Union and other general aspects of our lives.
Jack Irwin, Bangor, Co Down