Letter: Who exactly does Wallace Thompson speak for when he says a united Ireland is inevitable?
A letter from Dr Clifford Smyth:
Wallace Thompson is the darling of Irish nationalists.
His oft repeated assertion is music to their ears: "A united Ireland is inevitable."
A moment's reflection reveals that this statement is nothing more than fortune telling; and a strange preoccupation for an evangelical Christian whom we might presume believes in the sovereignty of God.
The best guide to this subject is M W Heslinga's seminal work, ‘The Irish Border as a Cultural Divide’.
Today the Republic of Ireland supports the Palestinian cause while many in Ulster uphold the right of the Israeli state to exist – yet another source of division on the island.
It is a serious error of political analysis to mistake the factionalism among unionists as weakness.
This has been a characteristic of the Protestant and loyalist communities down through the generations, and helps to explain the role of the Orange Order as an over-arching organisation uniting those who might otherwise go their separate ways.
Dr Clifford Smyth, author of ‘Ian Paisley, Voice of Protestant Ulster’, Belfast BT6