No restriction on who is Irish

Like Liam Murphy, (Letters, Sept 17,) I regret Rory McIlroy’s apparent reluctance to play on Team Ireland in the 2016 Olympics.

However, I resent his assertion that those of us living, however reluctantly, “under the British flag”, are not Irish. Patriots from Laurence O’Toole to Kevin Barry lived and died under British rule. The Good Friday agreement established the right of all people born in the North to designate themselves as Irish, British or both.

I, in common with hundreds of thousands of Northerners, hold an Irish passport. Liam’s definition of Irishness excludes some of Ireland’s most illustrious artists, athletes, writers, scientists, musicians, etc. Not to mention the last President.