Republicanism woefully out of touch

Partisan politics will never unite Ireland and all in republicanism can count on that.

Republicanism has been banging its head against a brick wall and at the end of the day failing to achieve what they want.

When does the light dawn that a partisan approach will never work and has not a chance in hell.

Republicanism, as it stands, is an anarchism, a culture from the dinosaur era when contemporarily contrasted with a corporate-driven world. Perhaps the same may also be said for loyalism.

The world today is a lot different and one wonders is Northern Ireland living in some kind of a time warp.

Has anybody up there noticed the passage of time? It has been 40 years since the Troubles began in earnest incorporating paramilitaries. Republicans have failed and this must be accepted. If we think about it: Irish nationalism has been over since 1916-1922 and never really got beyond that as such.

The days of Michael Collins and the pike staff held by so many Irishmen to remove the colonial presence seem very distant.

The future, of course, will leave us all behind and even serious events in Northern Ireland are now ignored by many people because they have to get on despite the echoes and old leather of the past in the shape of sectarianism and hatred.

All the massacres and strife will do nothing to change the status quo without cross-community support — and that is a fact. Senior leaders in Republicanism must surely be doubting a lifetime of struggle, which has become an end in itself without any champagne.

Polls have shown that the majority of nationalists living in Northern Ireland want to stay within the UK system because of such amenities as housing and health, that the Republic lacks.

Republicans need to stop trying old ways that leave them down to this day and become modernists.

The solution for republicanism is to leave room for other opinions and forget about their egos.

Much broader views must be taken on board and any hint of violence left behind. Sinn Fein may be good at understanding politics, but do they understand people?

Maurice Fitzgerald

Shanbally

Co Cork