A chara, - It was with utter disgust that I read Kevin Myers's Irishman's Diary of May 1st. It is unacceptable for such a respected newspaper as The Irish Times to permit a personal attack on the family of a highly respected public representative such as Pat "the Cope" Gallagher, TD.
Pat has represented the people of the South-west Donegal constituency for 20 years; he is regarded as being honest, hard-working and conscientious in his duties as TD and Minister for State and previously as a member of the European Parliament.
His record as a politician is second to none and this is recognised in Donegal and throughout the country.
Kevin Myers thrives on controversy. There are boundaries, however, within which any respected journalist should operate. One of these boundaries, I presume, is to respect the privacy of people's private lives. Kevin Myers has transgressed this boundary by his disgusting attack on Pat "the Cope" Gallagher and the least I would expect is that he apologises for his comments to the TD, both personally and publicly.
Occasionally, a line has to be drawn as regards what constitutes fair comment, and this is one of those times. - Is mise,
LIAM Ó CUINNEAGÁIN, Gleann Cholm Cille, Co Dhún na nGall.