Letter: Unprovisional rage in Irish voices

Sir: I was born in Ireland and brought up in Ireland. I have many friends there and I am very fond of the country. However, the continuing litany of stupid, crazed, evil killing leaves me wishing to renounce my Irishness. But why give in? Instead, I renounce the killers.

It is time that every rational Irishman stood up and screamed with rage at these people: 'You are not us] You are using the symbol of a piece of land and a piece of green cloth merely as an excuse.' Above all, you can be sure that each one of them, each 'foot soldier', is being used by a handful of people who don't give a damn about Ireland, but who are making money out of our 'troubles'.

It is also time that we were disgusted by every violent death; it should not take a child's death to outrage us. It is time we stopped looking back at mistakes made hundreds of years ago and started to look at what really counts: peace, health and real justice.

Yours sincerely,

PAULA SHARKEY

London, NW6

25 March