Madam, - Well done Michael McDowell for telling the Irish public what is really happening around them.
For too long we have been prepared to ignore the increasing evidence that many of the institutions of the State and as well as self-appointed bodies are being infiltrated by people with subversive sympathies whose long-term aim is to put Sinn Féin/IRA into power north and south of the Border, its election coffers filled with money from the most suspect of sources.
The behaviour of most of the media with regard to the Connolly case is breathtaking in its hypocrisy as many journalists and their editors make their living from leaks, rumour, innuendo and misleading headlines. Now, under the guise of feigned outrage that the Minister has somehow put all of our personal rights and freedoms at risk, they have closed ranks behind Mr Connolly.
The fact that Mr Connolly has singularly failed to account for his whereabouts at the time of the alleged visit to the Farc controlled areas of Columbia seems to be hardly worthy of mention in many sections of the media.
If Frank Connolly did not visit Colombia let him clearly say where he was during his absence from work at the time in question. It is time to stop shooting the messenger and concentrate on the real issue.
And did I really hear Mr Justice Flood correctly when he said on radio last week that it the background of his staff at the Centre for Public Inquiry was of no interest to him? I hope I misheard him. - Yours, etc,
JOHN O'GRADY, Glounthaune, Co Cork.
Madam, - It seems to me that the use of the Offences against the State Act, which Michael McDowell has cited to justify his actions in the Frank Connolly affair, represents the last resort of a desperate Minister for Justice. As a lawyer Michael McDowell knows full well that only the provisions of this Act can provide legal cover for his otherwise illegal treatment of Frank Connolly and the Centre for Public Inquiry.
The Offences against the State Act is a draconian piece of legislation, only to be employed in extreme situations. Therefore, in order to justify its use on this occasion, Mr McDowell will continue to blacken the reputation of Mr Connolly and the centre.
This conduct is reminiscent of the behaviour of the US government in attempting to justify the criminal invasion of Iraq. It painted Saddam Hussein as the greatest threat to humankind, having weapons of mass destruction, connections with al-Qaeda and involvement in the attacks on New York on 9/11.
Just as the majority of US citizens now recognise this web of deception as a strategy to propel them into an illegal and inhuman war, so too the Irish people will see through Michael McDowell's abuse of Irish jurisprudence in order to pursue his own political agenda. - Yours, etc,
ROBERT BALLAGH, Broadstone, Dublin 7.
Madam, - I would like to congratulate Kevin Myersfor his thought-provoking and courageous piece of journalism in his Irishman's Diary of December 15th.
It was straight-talking and thought-provoking, not only for the Irish public but for the fellow-members of his profession.
It is rare that one reads an article and feels it should be compulsory reading for everyone who values our democracy and the right to uphold our democratic values. This is such an article. I hope you reprint it in the near future. This article should be held up in every school of journalism as an example to students of their responsibilities when provoking debate, reporting on fact or offering opinion. There is more to the noble profession than selling newspapers.
Congratulations to your newspaper for having published the article and congratulations to Mr Myers for sharing with us his unique ability to tell it as it is. - Yours, etc,
JOHN MINIHAN, (Progressive Democrats), Seanad Éireann, Dublin 2.
Madam, - On last Friday's RTÉ Six One News, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell claimed that people on the street knew that alleged IRA/Farc drug deals in South America were a threat to Irish national security.
As one of those people on the street, I would like to state that I was not aware of any such threat to national security. I am, however, very much aware of the serious threat posed by Mr McDowell to the people of Ireland, by his ruthless and undemocratic actions in pursuit of a political agenda. - Yours, etc,
ANTHONY SHERIDAN, Carraig Eoin, Cobh, Co Cork.
Madam, - Congratulations to Kevin Myers on what must be one of the best articles he as written for The Irish Times. The prime duty of any democratic state is to uphold law and order and defend its democratic institutions from sinister, wealthy, criminal elements within it that are determined to undermine its foundations. As Mr Myers says, the IRA has not been disbanded and it is joined at the hip to its twin brother, Sinn Féin, which seems bent on infiltrating the institutions of this State.
It is surely a duty of reporters and journalists in a democracy to expose the tiny minority of people dedicated to dangerous, subversive activities and Mr Myers is a brilliant example of one such journalist. - Yours, etc,
ROBIN BURY, Killiney, Co Dublin.
Madam, - It would be pleasant to shrug off Michael McDowell's recent action as an aberration on the part of a thoughtful, hardworking but volatile Minister, and to remind ourselves of things he has said and done that we have admired. However, it seems to me that if material from a Garda file prepared for submission to the Director of Public Prosecutions is handed over to the press, this must undermine the Garda Siochána and the DPP and make it harder for them to do their jobs effectively in future. A Minister for Justice who hands over such material represents a greater threat to our democracy than any Mr Frank Connolly could ever be. - Yours etc.,
MICHAEL WILLIAMS, Grosvenor Square, Dublin 6.