On the boardwalk

Sir, - It is highly presumptuous to suggest that Dublin's Liffey is to be to "the capital what the Seine is to Paris" (The Irish…

Sir, - It is highly presumptuous to suggest that Dublin's Liffey is to be to "the capital what the Seine is to Paris" (The Irish Times, December 18th). A boardwalk alone is nowhere near enough to give an experience of the Parisian Left Bank. The reality regarding Liffey events is that, apart from the Liffey Swim, the greening on Saint Patricks's Day and the occasional daring rescue, the Liffey is used for little else except litter. When you mention that the Liffey can be "an area where artists can display and sell their works" there is every sign that the "artists" will be the corporate type, paying high prices for water space to sell their wares, chocolate or otherwise.

Who authorised this prostitution of the Liffey? For a Liffey experience worthy of a thriving European capital, let there be canal boats, river commuting, floating restaurants, boat shows, and much more, but don't prostitute the Liffey to economic excesses. - Yours, etc.,

Niall O'Donoghue, Narva, Finland.