Sir, - In his engrossing book The Construction of Dublin, your Environment Editor, Frank McDonald, states that when such a proposal was put forward, "it never received a fair hearing".
The scheme was first outlined in Technology Ireland (September 1975) by the civil engineer Conn Sheehan, now retired. As a city councillor, I strove in vain against obdurate minds for its adoption. However, the concept was rejected by Dublin Corporation on the basis of specious arguments adduced in an unsigned "feasibility" study produced by the ESB.
Interestingly, Belfast now enjoys an exuberance of benefits deriving from a River Lagan structure referred to as the Weir, otherwise a barrage. A most welcome consequence has been the popularity of waterbuses and the favourable effect on road traffic.
Incidentally, the Belfast weir evolved in the wake of the suggestion made for Dublin 25 years ago. - Yours, etc.,
Ray Fay, PC, Malahide Road, Clontarf, Dublin 3.