OLIVER McGRANE,
Madam, - "You're muck, only foreign muck! For-eign muck, do you hear me? Get back to your own country!" This loudly-spoken venom (and much more) from a tall, forty-something male was directed at a couple with a child who boarded our bus the other morning, coincidentally the day that all hell was to break loose on the airwaves over ill-judged remarks earlier by members of the judiciary about foreign nationals in Ireland.
In the situation, we were all transfixed, the injured couple wisely held their peace (and admirably their dignity), the author disappeared to the rear of the bus where his tirade gradually subsided, and a passenger tried to restore a semblance of the country's honour by offering the family a seat.
The shock of one experience outweighs a mountain of reportage! Yours, etc.,
OLIVER McGRANE, Marley Avenue, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16.