Sir, – Lucas Kelly (March 21st) seems to be dismayed that your newspaper would list 50 reasons to try to cheer up people living in Ireland. Writing from Saudi Arabia, he complains about the darkness, the climate, the corruption, and our most successful political party.
I would say that you can find problems wherever you live: surely sunburn and sandstorms, the absence of the summertime “grand stretch in the evenings”, a criminal justice system that enshrines blood money and mutilation, and no political parties whatsoever could all be listed as ills in Mr Kelly’s current home.
We all know that Ireland has problems. The point is to adapt to the ones we can do nothing about (ie by buying decent raingear) and work hard to overcome the problems that are surmountable, such as the at times dysfunctional political system. – Yours, etc,
JAMES GAFFNEY,
Rua Miguel Viana,
Morro Chic,
Itajubá, Minas Gerais,
Brazil.