Sir, - After reading Frank McDonald's piece on Ireland's (supposedly new) materialism, I had to congratulate The Irish Times on its unashamed ability to eat its cake and have it. On one hand, the paper's columnists regularly, and ineffectually, lecture the public about its nouveau riche behaviour, while on the other its supplements relentlessly celebrate precisely those values we are meant to disdain.
For example, the journalistic role of criticism has disappeared from the weekly property section, in which articles (accompanied by large colour photographs) more than do the promotional job for estate agents and their clients.
Similarly uncritical is the paper's business supplement, its apparent role being that of a cheerleader for the boom. Articles about captains of industry and companies are invariably soft, to say the least. Management vision is praised and forecasts are bullish, right up to the point when the share price nosedives. As for those sidebar profiles - do we really want to know what a pension fund manager's favourite breakfast is?
When writers for The Irish Times bewail how economic success is corroding standards and encouraging uncritical boosterism, it seems they're letting one venerable institution off the hook. - Yours, etc.,
Shane Barry, Windsor Road, Dublin 6.