McAleese should learn to keep her nose south of the border

Ulster Unionist MLA Tom Elliott and UUP Peer Lord Maginnis have reacted angrily to an address made by the Republic of Ireland President Mary McAleese at last nights centenary celebrations held by the Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union in Dublin.

During her speech the Irish Leader made derogatory remarks concerning those from the Republic who chose to join the British Army in the past.

Speaking today the UUP MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone told Ms McAleese that it was time she kept her nose south of the border and stopped trying to re-write history.

"To be honest I do believe that Ms McAleese must be suffering from a form of Stockholm syndrome. She was born in the UK, but as President of the Irish Republic feels obliged to constantly put the boot into Unionists and Protestants. This is not the first time she has made a blunder, indeed we remember her recent comments which stated that Protestant children were taught to hate Catholics in the same way Nazis despised Jews."

"In her position I think it would be more helpful if Ms McAleese built bridges rather than build bigger walls between herself and the pro-Union community. In her comments last night she refuses to recognise the important role Irishmen played throughout both world wars and within British military history generally."

"However, once again her comments seem to reflect her odd and backward approach to Northern Ireland. I think it important that she remembers the overwhelming majority of unionists and republicans in NI and the vast majority of her own citizens in the South endorsed an internal pro-UK settlement in the 1998 referendum. Now that her country has withdrawn its territorial claims on NI it might be a good idea if Mrs McAleese kept her mouth shut and her nose south of the border."

Ulster Unionist Peer, Lord Maginnis, himself a formed UDR Major added: "Once again we have witnessed a huge faux pas from Ms McAleese. The whole idea that men joined the Army to keep their families off the bread line in absolute nonsense. In making these comments she is not only doing a disservice to Irish history, but to her fellow Irishmen by diminishing the role they played and indeed that they continued to play during the second world war."