Sir, - The hype by the media in the Sheedy case beats all their previous efforts in hypocritical crawthumping. There are countless cases in which the last few years of a sentence are suspended. The revolving-door syndrome has long been a joke to the body politic and to some district justices.
While the letter of the law may now have been narrowly followed in the Sheedy case, the spirit of the law also has an important part to play. We can ill afford to lose judges of such standing, and especially of the calibre of Hugh O'Flaherty, whose great humanitarian instincts got the better of him yet again.
Mr Justice Kelly was well known for his efficiency in dealing with cases and these are qualities the courts badly need to hold on to and not destroy, especially when driven by media hype and political expediency. - Yours, etc.,
Jack Norton, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10.