Sir, – What a breath of fresh air is Laura Kennedy ("Irishness is a coat you can't remove", Life, February 21st). I really enjoy her incisive and quirky humour and treasure the insights she draws from events mundane and profound. – Yours, etc,
ADRIAN BARRY,
Malahide,
Co Dublin.
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Sir, – Keith Duggan's "Sideline Cut" article ("Cabinet's visit to Sligo only showed the foreign world they live in", February 17th) is a riposte to the PR-driven posturing of recent governments and succinctly sums up the reality of the modern rural Ireland that the much-heralded National Development Plan seeks to gloss over. For those whose interests do not stray as far as the sports section of your newspaper, I respectfully suggest that it should be reprinted in full on your editorial or opinion pages.
Well done to Keith Duggan for summing up the frustration of an increasingly isolated and polarised country. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL KELLY,
Tralee,
Co Kerry.
Sir, – Michael Harding opened his article (February 21st) with the following: "There's a pub on the other side of Athlone, where I sometimes sit in the corner and daydream. A few old men drink in silence, and an elderly matriarch sits in a stool behind the bar and entertains her guests with snippets of gossip".
What a beautifully inviting picture that he drew. It stopped me in my tracks and all I wanted was to have a quiet creamy pint there.
Michael Harding, please hold a stool for me, I’m on my way. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN CULLEN,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.