Sir, - The moral arrogance and unshakeable ignorance of Senator Paschal Mooney as reported in your edition of June 3rd is nothing less than astonishing. Senator Mooney attributes the reluctance of the French and Italian Governments to prevent Yugoslav sports teams from taking part in competitions in their respective jurisdictions to their history of collaboration with the Nazis during the Second World War. He should remember that both of these countries are part of the alliance which is trying, however incompetently, to end the Serbian campaign against the Kosovar Albanians, and Italy is providing aircraft and the majority of the airbases for this effort. Both countries are taking in vastly more refugees than the "Celtic Tiger".
It is worth remembering also that the Balkan country that entered into an alliance with the Nazis during the second World War was Croatia, not Serbia. Without wishing to support the playing of the soccer match against Yugoslavia, we should remember that a soccer game is a very trivial platform on which to construct such an ethical Tower of Babel as Senator Mooney seems to have in mind. - Yours, etc.,
Conor MacCarthy, Institute of Irish Studies, Liverpool University. England.