Sir, - Wander at random through the streets, avenues and lanes of Dublin and one sees very quickly that we now have a virtual 24-hour lighted city.
The night sky has all but disappeared and - sadly, if one thinks for a minute about our children's natural curiosity - we have banished the glories of the universe from the view of the naked eye. One can say in all honesty that there are nearly no stars up there for the young people to see.
In the recent "boom years", light pollution has been steadily increased by the dubious fashion of illuminating private homes at night with powerful, industrial-style lamps that can cover whole neighbourhoods in a lurid yellow luminous glow.
In England there is now a society that campaigns for dark skies, for regaining that wonderful beauty that God has given us all - the night sky with all its stars, planets, moons and comets.
In a recent experiment, an English city turned off its night lights for a few minutes. All the children were amazed and delighted by this one chance they were given to see the glories of the universe. The adults were equally delighted to see their children forsake the Internet and computer games and join in as a family to share in this wonderful experience. - Yours, etc.,
Kealan Boyle, Grace Park Terrace, Drumcondra, Dublin 9.