Sir, – I must say I bristled somewhat, as an erstwhile professor of Greek, at Justine McCarthy’s assumption that Greek scholars should not feel themselves qualified to elect members of the Senate (Opinion & Analysis, April 7th). But I concede that most of what she has to say about the composition of that institution is very sound.
However, university representation was originally devised, so far as I know, for the worthy purpose of giving some voice in government to the “Protestant minority”, which Trinity was assumed to represent (with the NUI included for “balance”). However, it can no longer be claimed that Trinity represents the “Protestant minority” (though it does still represent, I feel, a fine liberal tradition), so that the original basis for this arrangement has lost its validity. However, as a longtime supporter of such a figure as Senator David Norris, for one, I feel that Trinity representation has done its bit to brighten up that otherwise turgid institution.– Yours, etc,
JOHN DILLON,
Regius professor of Greek
Matt Williams: Take a deep breath and see how Sam Prendergast copes with big Fiji test
New Irish citizens: ‘I hear the racist and xenophobic slurs on the streets. Everything is blamed on immigrants’
Jack Reynor: ‘We were in two minds between eloping or going the whole hog but we got married in Wicklow with about 220 people’
‘I could have gone to California. At this rate, I probably would have raised about half a billion dollars’
(Emeritus) TCD,
Howth,
Dublin.