Madam, - I read with interest the report of the dossier on Irish UFOs obtained from the Defence Forces under the Freedom of Information Act (The Irish Times, September 20th). I was particularly interested in the file on the garda in Donegal who spotted a grey object as he was cutting turf in the bog in the mid-1980s.
I wondered if this was the same incident that, as a young reporter working in Derry, I was dispatched by The Irish Times to investigate. A garda named Mick Galligan, who has sadly since passed away, had noted an unexplained crater in the bog near Churchill. He and I mused for a long time about what could have caused it, but we never did get to the bottom of it.
The duty editor in The Irish Times cautioned me against using the word "mysterious" in my report because, he told me, everything could be explained. The next morning the headline on my report read: "Mysterious hole in Donegal Bog". I suspect there's a road running through it now. - Yours, etc,
MARY HARTE, Raphoe, Co Donegal.