Sir, - As a citizen of Belfast, I have viewed with envy the Dublin Millennium monument competition. If only society North of the border had developed to the extent that such matters were given room to be aired. Instead, as always, we lock horns with our fellow citizens and render ourselves incapable of looking at other issues in our society.
The winning monument for O'Connell Street is, in my view, original, elegant and inspiring. Can I borrow the upper portion of it before it is installed to prod (verb) our representatives in Northern Ireland into agreeing on the Agreement, to give us a political monument for the new Millennium? I will manfully resist skewering a few of our politicians while I'm at it!
I notice that the budget allocated for the O'Connell Street monument is £4 million, but that only £3 million is required. Surely the surplus funds can be used to finally erect a monument to St Patrick on Main Street, Ireland? Time for another competition?
A monument to our national saint could address two issues that the winning spire does not. A discernibly Irish design style could be used and also this monument would acknowledge the Christian basis of the dating system that we will be celebrating.
Finally - in deference to the many American-style fast food outlets within an empty burger carton throw of the monument site, I think an appropriate nickname for this new feature would be Spike-U-Like. - Yours, etc., Mark Doherty,
Rosetta Road, Belfast 6.