Sir, – How wonderful it is to have Frank McDonald enlighten us mere mortals about the new building ("Why I love Dún Laoghaire library", Saturday, November 8th)! It is not a monstrosity after all, as hundreds of people of the area have been saying, individually and at meetings. No, its "superb finishing" makes it a public building to be proud of. Mr McDonald tells us it is not an ugly, misplaced, concrete hulk in the midst of Victorian Dún Laoghaire, rather it is a "bold addition to the landscape". He informs us that the bizarre English red brick on the Sandycove side is in sympathy with the town's Victorian buildings. Wow! So now we know!
Mr McDonald does not delve into the reasons for local outrage at the cost of the building – €36 million, which came from the public purse. Many of Dun Laoghaire’s shops went to the wall as a result of the council’s high rates and car parking charges, which no doubt contributed to the funding of the folly on the seafront. – Yours, etc,
FERGAL McLOUGHLIN,
Blackrock, Co Dublin.