Madam, - As usual I enjoyed Kevin Myers's Irishman's Diary in Tuesday's edition - this time advocating the abolition of the Arts Council. To answer his question on why the Government should fund the arts, I suggest that he plays the computer game Civilisation. The aim of the game is to build a viable civilisation in a virtual world. In this game, once a town gets to a certain size, it becomes necessary to hire an entertainer or a priest to prevent a dissatisfied population from rebelling.
As it is no longer acceptable to fund religion, perhaps the arts currently fulfil this function. - Yours, etc.,
FINTAN CLANCY, London NW3.