National anthem and copyright law

A chara, – Senator Mark Daly's attempt to remove Amhrán na bhFiann from the public domain because he does not like how it is used by some is a dangerous move ("State should hold copyright to national anthem, Daly says", January 15th).

Kudos to his colleagues and the Department of Defence for not supporting it. The use of copyright in this way is itself inappropriate, and would present a precedent to those other copyright maximalists who seek to appropriate the public domain to themselves.

For as long and Ireland remains respectable, she and her national anthem will be respected by those for whom this is important.

The public domain is already under a huge amount of pressure, so it is refreshing to see that it, too, has the respect of many in the Oireachtas. – Is mise,

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ÉIBHEAR Ó hANLUAIN,

Clontarf,

Dublin 3.