Sir, - Congratulations to David Rose for his insightful article, "Ireland of the Welcomes?" (The Irish Times, September 13th).
In it he asks whether the success of the Celtic Tiger is subtly changing the soul of Ireland for the worse.
Nowhere is the deluge of "building, building" everywhere more obvious than in picturesque towns in the west, now regrettably trendy. Nowhere is the hostility of local landowners more extreme than on the coastline, where some beautiful public beaches have been fenced off.
Another astute observation was that people who serve in shops and restaurants "have become just like their counterparts in London - not quite rude, but almost".
David Rose is right. Like the white rabbit, the whole of Ireland is now in a hurry, and getting cross about it.-Yours, etc.,
From Linda Cusack
Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.