Madam, - So the Abbey Theatre relocation fiasco rumbles on, now with added piquancy courtesy of Senator David Norris's misguided intervention (June 30th) mooting another possible location in the form of - wait for it - the GPO.
The whole project appears now to be up in the air due to our straitened economic situation, but in the past decade the national theatre has been considered for relocation to the former Carlton Cinema site in O'Connell Street, to Parnell Square, and finally, purely due to the intervention of the business community, to Docklands - a plan without a scintilla of historic sensibility. Senator Norris's idea merely serves to confuse the issue further.
All of these suggestions miss one vital point: that the Abbey's historic home is where it currently stands and should remain, albeit in significantly expanded form. This was an option open to Government via the acquisition of surrounding properties, but consistently ruled out for reasons which became abundantly apparent with the announcement of the Docklands site.
It's just possible the Abbey may remain in situ due to a lack of available money from the public purse, rather than political policy. However, how much better if the notion of respect for our cultural heritage had entered the minds of those responsible for this debacle. - Yours, etc,
DAVID MARLBOROUGH,
Kenilworth Park,
Dublin 6.