A Chara, - Why do so many sports journalists have it in for Ireland's Call? Keith Duggan was at it again last Saturday with his put-down of the IRFU's anthem as a "strange wail of a tune" and his glib suggestion that "a popular classic from Madonna" would do as well.
It's actually a good tune, with simple, rousing and - above all - inclusive words, unlike Amhrán na bhFiann or God Save the Queen. The Belfast man beside me in Croke Park for the French match - whom I took to be from a unionist background because he didn't sing the Irish national anthem - joined in lustily when it came to Ireland's Call. So the next time Keith Duggan and others have to reach for the odd high note, they should bear in mind that important word "inclusive".
It's what the new Ireland is meant to be all about, after all. - Is mise,
ANDY POLLAK,
Palmerston Road,
Dublin 6.
Madam, - Declan O'Keefe (February 16th) writes that "some people are saying it would be appropriate if we beat England 19-16 in Croke Park. Maybe. But let's hope they don't beat us 19-20."
It would be nice if he had added that during the 1971-72 Five Nations Championship, at the height of the Troubles, the England team turned up at Landsdowne Road (while others reneged) to tumultuous applause from Celt and Anglo-Saxon alike.
I look forward to a good sporting encounter on Saturday, to seeing Ronan O'Gara pit his wits against Jonny Wilkinson, and to enjoying the wizardry of Brian O'Driscoll. - Yours, etc,
NOEL CLARKE,
Shannon Weir,
Athlone,
Co Westmeath.
Madam, - It should be pointed out to the English RFU that God Save the Queen is the anthem for the whole of the United Kingdom. Many Scots, Welsh and, dare I say, Ulster friends resent the way that the English have hijacked their anthem.
In the Commonwealth Games the English teams always used the "Land of Hope and Glory" passage from Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance. Apart from being more appropriate and less offensive, it's a vastly better tune. - Yours, etc,
MIKE WALSH,
Rathduff, Balla,
Co Mayo.