Sir, – Gavin Tobin (October 31st) suggests that correspondents append their age to their letters, as he guesses that the argument for retention of the Angelus chimes "can be broken down along age lines with the fogeys firmly in favour". I am not sure at what age you become a fogey, and my dictionary hasn't cleared it up, only informing me that a fogey is an "extremely old-fashioned or conservative person".
I enjoy hearing the chimes on RTÉ. It gives me a moment for pause and there is comfort in its ritual. I would miss them if they were gone.
If that makes me a fogey at 29, then so be it! – Yours, etc,
SINEAD O’LOGHLIN,
Dalkey,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – As an old fogey (64) who some months ago addressed his objections to RTÉ about the Angelus, I am more than a little bemused by Gavin Tobin’s (43) hazardous guess that all old fogies disagree with him.
The prejudice that people of my age group are dyed-in-the-wool conservatives is one of our most useful weapons against those who are complacent enough to believe that this prejudice is justified. – Yours, etc,
PETER KENNY,
Churchtown,
Dublin 14.
Sir, – Gavin Tobin (43) believes the retention is unjustifiable and believes his youth is a clinching argument. Such faith moves molehills.
I’ll be 74 very soon but flatter myself that I’m not yet so cranky that I’d ban church bells, Christmas, Easter, Islamic calls to prayer, or having a lie-in on the Sabbath.
If I have one complaint about RTÉ it is that it has too many advertisements, many of them dripping with insincerity. – Yours, etc,
DONAL KENNEDY,
London.
Sir, – Many of my agnostic friends deplore the departure of the Angelus. It provides them with a buffer in which to watch the headlines on the BBC News at Six and then switch to RTÉ's Six-One News. – Yours, etc,
DENIS O’DONOVAN,
Cork.
Sir, – For me, it’s a health issue. The sound of the Angelus bells on RTÉ raises my blood pressure.
I salute Wesley Boyd ("RTÉ fails to grasp the Angelus nettle once again", Opinion & Analysis, October 28th) for raising this issue once again and lowering my blood pressure! – Yours, etc,
ANNE O’REILLY,
Dundrum,
Dublin 16.