Sir, – In his defence of the Angelus on RTÉ (Letters, October 29th), Fionn O'Grada refers to the ringing of bells in the aum in yoga and to a "minute of stillness" before the breaking news at the top of the hour.
I have no problem with either of the above, but I do have a problem with the cacophonous volume of large outdoor bells, which has me reaching for the volume button on the remote control.
Why doesn’t RTÉ change the sound to the gentle tinkle of little bells?
– Yours, etc,
SEAN O’ SULLIVAN,
Crossabeg,
Co Wexford.
Sir, – Wesley Boyd ("RTÉ fails to grasp the Angelus nettle once again", October 28th) is in serious danger of getting his canonical knickers in a twist over the Angelus bells tolling daily on RTÉ radio and TV.
The suggestion that it is a call to prayer in the Ireland of 2015 is a nonsense. It provides an opportunity for moments of reflection or a hint to put the kettle on. It is part of our lives, an Irish sos or break in the day.
The disingenuous comparison of the Angelus with the muezzin call to prayer is distasteful to say the least. Other democratic countries have cultural, historic and religious traditions and no one seems to feel under threat. – Yours, etc,
PATRICK JUDGE
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Wesley Boyd’s call to scrap the Angelus from RTÉ radio and TV is typical of the lobby for whom freedom of religion means freedom from religion, a perspective which is itself a form of bigotry.
Public service broadcasting should reflect the make-up of the society it serves.
In our case, a very significant proportion of our society is recorded by census as being Catholic, so there is every reason why that faith should be accorded recognition by the public service broadcaster.
If one looks to the UK, BBC Radio 4 devotes 15 minutes every day before the 10am news to broadcasting a Church of England service.
In addition, the "Thought for the Day" slot on the same channel's Today programme is frequently given over to a minister of the Church of England.
Compare this to RTÉ’s four minutes per day across radio and television given to the Angelus. The latter can hardly be regarded as excessive.
– Yours, etc,
JOE LENIHAN,
Collins Avenue,
Dublin 9.
Sir, – Perhaps Wesley Boyd might shut his eyes, close his ears,open his mind for a moment and become mindful of the reflection that the Angelus chimes can bring to many Irish people? A minute’s peace.
– Yours, etc,
DENIS GILL
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – A suggestion for the people who get angry when they continue to hear the Angelus twice a day on RTÉ radio.
Perhaps if they spend two minutes a day appreciating all the things in the world that never make them angry it might drown out the sound of the bells.
It’s also the opposite of what Archbishop John Charles McQuaid expected you to do.
– Yours, etc,
DERMOT O’ROURKE
Lucan,
Dublin.