Madam, - Representatives of the Reform Movement write (January 16th) that Dublin's Lord Mayor was one of those who failed to attend the annual Remembrance Day service over the years.
Lest there be any confusion, can I confirm that, during my term of office as Lord Mayor, I was privileged to attend the service in St Patrick's Cathedral to honour the thousands of Irish people who died in the two world wars.
Along with the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Cllr Alex Maskey, I also had the honour to lay a wreath at several Battle of the Somme memorials in Belgium. Later that year I hosted the first mayoral reception since 1919 for associates of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. The week before, at their invitation, I attended the launch by Sinn Féin of a campaign highlighting the difficulties faced by residents of the Short Strand area in Belfast.
As a supporter of the Good Friday Agreement and as someone who supports the aspiration for an all-Ireland Republic, I believe these were the right courses of action as Lord Mayor. Pluralism and genuine Republicanism are, in my view interchangeable.
The pity is, many Republicans don't understand that. - Yours, etc.,
Cllr DERMOT LACEY,
Beech Hill Drive,
Dublin 4.