Madam, - The death of Gerry Fitt reminded me of a cartoon I saw in the Daily Telegraph in London in 1978 or 1979, the caption of which stated, "There's as much chance of British withdrawal from Northern Ireland as of Gerry Fitt becoming a lord."
Now that Lord Fitt of Bell's Hill has shuffled off this mortal coil, recent developments in the North, not least the removal of surveillance towers in south Armagh and elsewhere, would seem to indicate the beginning of a process which could well end with the first part of the cartoonist's speculation coming to pass, just as the second did - especially in light of comments made recently by a former Northern Ireland police chief, who predicted a united Ireland in about 15 years. - Yours, etc,
JOE PATTON, Chapelizod Court, Chapelizod, Dublin 20.