Madam, - Reports of the MacSharry case in Co Sligo and Sean MacConnell's articles in your edition of January 7th suggest that the long-running issue of access rights in the Irish countryside is coming to a head.
It so happens that I was on holiday in Co Kerry last week with friends from the Irish Ramblers Club (the Republic's largest walking club). About 35 of us in all were staying in seven holiday homes near Kenmare, shopping in the local shops, drinking in the local pubs, eating in the local restaurants and filling up our cars at the local petrol stations. One afternoon, a group were returning from walking a well-known route when they were confronted by an angry farmer who said they had no right to cross his land and that none of the local farmers wanted hill-walkers anywhere in the area.
In discussion that evening, more than one member of the club suggested that, if that was the reception they received in Kerry, the club would be better off arranging future holidays in Wales. Is this really what the Government and local tourist organisations want?
If Ireland is to exploit its tremendous potential as a holiday destination for hill-walkers, legislative action, as advocated by Keep Ireland Open, is now needed urgently. - Yours, etc.,
PAUL HUDSON, Billericay, Essex, England.