Sir, - I agree with Dr Ciaran Cosgrave (May 3rd) that his objection to your headline "Resolute Blair warns SF, IRA" is not semantic nitpicking: semantic nitpicking generally makes some sense. Dr Cosgrove should know that a comma, rather than "and", is conventionally used in such cases in order to save space (otherwise the headline would have to be set in smaller type, with less impact). For example The Irish Times (May 6th) carries the headline "Employers, unions to research disability". Nobody would suppose from this that "employers unions" was a hybrid term for a single organisation.
Likewise, the comma does not imply a link between Sinn Fein and the IRA. In my opinion, the only reason Dr Cosgrove infers such a meaning is the fact that he, like everybody else, already knows that the link exists. "The Republican movement" a term used by Republicans themselves - is surely a far better example of linguistic chicanery than "Sinn Fein IRA", as used by Unionists to mean the same thing. - Yours, etc.,
Broadford Lawn,
Dublin 16.