Madam, - P. Feighery suggests (July 7th) that those campaigning to save the remains of Carrickmines Castle lack support from "the majority of citizens", and that there should be a free vote in the Dáil to resolve the issue of the castle and the M50 motorway. Given that the TDs of the two principal political parties (Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael) are already well known to favour destroying the castle rather than slowing down completion of the motorway, I doubt if a "free vote" by the deputies would produce any surprises. Perhaps that is why Mr Feighery made his suggestion.
Ostensibly, a more satisfactory approach to the problem was suggested a few weeks ago by another correspondent, M. Gohery, who contended that a plebiscite be held on the matter. However, this too was not all that it seemed. Mr Gohery wanted the vote confined to the people of south Dublin - a peculiar condition, given that Carrickmines is a national monument, and as such its fate is something that should concern all the people of Ireland.
I must assume that neither correspondent is aware of the extent of public support that the campaign to save the castle has attracted. Two polls about the controversy have been held this year. The first, on RTÉ's website on February 26th, asked the question: "Is Irish heritage being overshadowed in the rush for development, e.g., Carrickmines Castle?".
The results were: Yes, 63.6 per cent, No 32.2 per cent, Maybe 4.2 per cent. The second poll was carried out on behalf of the Irish Independent early in May; its outcome was never publicised. It asked those polled whether or not they agreed with the decision of the Supreme Court to suspend construction of the M50 across the ruins of Carrickmines Castle. In that instance, 56.6 per cent agreed, 40.7 per cent disagreed, and 2.7 per cent were undecided.
Until someone makes a better suggestion about how to record the degree of support represented by both sides in the dispute, I think these figures should be accepted as the best available. - Yours, etc.,
Dr DAVID EDWARDS, Department of History, University College, Cork.