I.R.A. bomb attack

Press, 5 November 1984, Page 14

I.R.A. bomb attack

Sir,—M. Creel has put pen to paper to express his indignation at Britain’s “Imperialist aggression” against Northern Ireland (October 29). Obviously Garret Fitz Gerald cuts no ice with Mr Creel when he states that “The I.R.A. is conducting a campaign of genocide against the Ulster Protestants who, have been in Ireland as long as the Europeans have been in America, and have as much right to be heard as the rest of the Irish population.” Mr Creel is equally unmoved by Conor Cruise O'Brien’s view , that the IRA. is a niurderoiis terrorist organisation, and that Britain’s withdrawal from Ulster would be disastrous for the whole of Ireland, north and south alike. After reading numerous examples of M. Creel’s convoluted double-think it is like a breath of fresh air to read the balanced and realistic views of men like Fitz Gerald and O’Brien. These men have put Mr Creel’s views on Ireland into their true perspective.—Yours, etc., ' J. ALLEN. Upper Takaka, October 31, 1984.

Sir,—The preconditions for Irish unity listed by C. H. Dobson (November 3) are either already sought by the Irish Government or

opposed by both Irish communities. Conor Cruise O’Brien, whose views he cites, is neither a Republican politician nor a reliable authority. Rejected by his electorate after a brief undistinguished political career, he withdrew to a favoured niche in the British establishment. With all the venom of a discarded favourite he now employs his considerable polemic skills in sabotaging the efforts of his former colleagues to achieve a negotiated settlement of the Anglo-Irish conflict. His “Press” article exhibits a characteristic dearth of constructive comment and an ill-concealed satisfaction at the possibility of continuing bloodshed. Though one cannot expect unbiased comment on these views from British sources, one is entitled to expect the “Press” to identify the vested interests of contributors writing purportedly objective assessments of any controversial topic—Yours, etc., S. O. MAHONY November 3, 1984.