HURLING TAN

Sir, John Banville in his article about hurling (August 31st) refers to it as an "essentially peasant game"

Sir, John Banville in his article about hurling (August 31st) refers to it as an "essentially peasant game". He speculates on the professions of the players and notices "the odd Mediterranean tan" which, he says, "attested to the encroachment of the urban middle class".

I wonder how Mr Banville knows the difference between a Mediterranean tan and an Atlantic or Irish Sea tan? Perhaps the best way to get a tan is to be a hurler on the ditch. Yours, etc., Hyde Park Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin.