Letter: I don’t fault him for defending his side, but Varadkar always put the Irish national interest first

Had Brexit not happened he might well have been somebody unionists could have worked with and he certainly stood up to Sinn Fein on some occasions.

The poison of the Irish Sea border, however, never allowed such relationships to develop.

The Irish government is very fond of describing itself as a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement. The truth of the matter is that when it came to choosing between being a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement and pursuing the Irish national interest, Leo Varadkar chose the Irish national interest.

When it came to a choice of breaking the Good Friday Agreement to protect nationalist interests and honouring the Good Friday Agreement, there was no contest.

In some ways this is understandable. Leaders all over the world make selfish decisions for reasons of nationalist interests rather than displaying a gentlemanly attitude of fairness to an opponent or rival.

It is perhaps more the pity the British government didn’t feel the same loyalty to its national minority in Ireland.

In that sense I don’t fault him for defending his side. Unionists should never stop declaring, however, that he broke the Good Friday Agreement by laying claim to the whole island of Ireland and that the constitutional damage, while mitigated, has not yet been repaired.

Leo Varadkar deserves some credit for his time in office, as all public servants do, and Irish nationalists should certainly laud him for protecting them and advancing their interests.

But let’s be honest enough to state that the Irish government abandoned being co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement in favour of pursuing national interests.

R G McDowell, Belfast, BT5