Sir, - At last we can treat our visitors to a magnificent panorama of Dublin from a viewpoint nearly twice the height of Nelson's Pillar (38 years later and exactly 200 times the price. I wonder if we have as many fivers now as we had tanners (sixpences) then.)
In 40 seconds, our vista expands from Smithfield to Guinness and the Dublin Mountains as the glass lift soars above the old distillery chimney and friendly guides help tourists identify landmarks. Then the glass wall gives a spectacular eagle's eye view of the city and the bay.
On a clear morning you might be reminded of Wordsworth's poem "Upon Westminster Bridge" or the new London Eye with its glass viewing capsules.
This brilliant initiative in the millennium year is so much more friendly and accessible than an alien spike in O'Connell St. I congratulate Smithfield Village on providing us all with a new angle on Dublin. - Yours, etc.
Michael Grehan, Terenure, Dublin 6w.