Madam, - Although a non-smoker, I have always had deep reservations about the necessity of a total ban on smoking in public places. I had always believed that the sensible compromise sought by Ireland's hospitality industry was a reasonable response to the problems that smokers can cause.
My presentiment was confirmed with the sad news of the impending disappearance of the two surviving Bewley's cafes. No doubt they will be replaced by another shopping import, adding to the bland homogenisation of what remains of our legacy.
The supreme irony of all this imposed change is my recollection of Bewley's as being the chosen venue for the "launch" of the smoking-ban implementation programme. If my memory serves me correctly, this PR exercise featured the starring roles of our now discredited, and ex-minister for health, Micheál Martin , flanked by his twin acolytes from ASH, (the anti-smoking lobby group), namely Drs Howell and Clancy. Patrick Campbell has been reported as affirming that the smoking ban was the "last straw" - or should it have been the "last gasp!" - in the demise of Bewley's.
I also note that today you carry a report on recent Nielsen findings in regard to the performance of the much-maligned public house sector. This corroborates the Bewley's experience of an up to 15 per cent decline in turnover in those outlets unable to offer the choice of outside smoking areas to smokers and their friends. - Yours, etc.,
BART O'BRIEN, Sutton, Dublin 13.
Madam - I heard very recently on my local news that Bewley's is closing. I was saddened, partly for selfish reasons: when I first visited Ireland five years ago, I spent a lovely couple of hours at Bewley's, with a good friend in a beautiful city. I was planning to go back to Dublin and revisit that warm and conversational atmosphere. Perhaps Bewley's fell victim to the busyness of life. Everyone, now, is in a hurry. When we choose to deny ourselves the time for reflection and for conversation, much more than a coffee house and a piece of history has been lost. - Yours, etc.,
ALISON BORRAJO, Edenbridge Drive, Toronto, Canada.