Time to put our history behind us – like the Irish do

I HAVE just returned from Ireland. I have never been there before and wondered what, if anything, this near neighbour could teach us.

- David Taylor-Gooby

I am much aware of Ireland's difficult history, and how they have not been treated at all well by their English neighbours. I was expecting some antipathy, but did not experience any. Most people, particularly young people, were very friendly and helpful.

I was in the Wicklow mountains area, south of Dublin, most of the time, and noticed how much better their natural environment is than ours. A greater proportion is wooded, and there are plenty of luxuriant hedgerows beside the fields and roads. You immediately notice a far healthier biodiversity, butterflies and a variety of insects. As we all know, it rains a great deal in Ireland and the countryside is very green, but I gained the impression that the country was more environmentally aware than we are.