Madam, - The recent correspondence on the Danish apology for the depredations their fellow-countrymen did to this island a thousand years ago reminded me of my recent visit to Denmark and Sweden.
The flawless efficiency of their public transport, the cycle parks instead of car parks, the lack of traffic congestion, but above all the wide, open, unlittered public squares and parks made me wonder if the wrong side had won the battle of Clontarf.
However, I also remembered that I would not have been able to afford to go there at all but for a certain airline run by a part-time farmer from Mullingar. His in-your-face individualism seems to be at odds with the Nordic attitude of public service.
Reconciling the best of these contradictory influences is an issue that our political system has to resolve. - Yours, etc,
A LEAVY, Shielmartin Drive, Sutton, Dublin 13.