Irish exceptionalism

Sir, – What a remarkable piece by Eoin Drea ("Hogan affair displays Irish exceptionalism at its worst", Opinion & Analysis, August 31st). Remarkable, that is, for its failure to acknowledge, never mind understand, the impact of "Golfgate" on the people of Ireland.

Mr Drea, who works for the European People’s Party, of which Fine Gael is a member, essentially takes Ireland to task for being small-minded in not overlooking Mr Hogan’s flouting of the Government’s guidelines for the protection of the health of its people. Mr Hogan was, apparently, so important to Ireland and Europe that the Government and people should have looked the other way.

All I can add is that I agree with one sentence in Mr Drea’s article. “It is difficult to explain the mindset of the vast majority of Irish people working in the Brussels EU bubble.” – Yours, etc,

PAT KELLY,

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Castleknock,

Dublin 15.