Sir, - Your articles "Voices from the Edge" (January 12th and 13th) have provoked much comment locally. Your paper is to be complimented on focusing on marginalised areas of our country all too often forgotten in a society that increasingly regards wealth as God and greed as the only factor which motivates people. One of the problems with articles which focus on the negative aspects of any particular area is that they tend to reinforce the sense on defeat and helplessness experienced by the people who live there, and contradict the message of community activists and organisations which proclaim that change will come, but only if we stand together and demand it.
In this regard I wish to comment on the remarks by Mr Michael O'Mahony about Limerick. As a public representative, I live in a corporation estate beside St Mary's Park, which featured in your article. I would hate to have it characterised as being populated by people whose only recreation was wallowing in sewage in the Abbey River due to the action of the corporation. We closed the meagre facility we had there precisely because of the deteriorating water condition. I am happy to report that a major sewerage scheme which will entail the temporary closure of the Abbey River will get under way this year and will return the water quality to what it should be.
Other things are happening too! A few years ago we built one of the finest youth and community centres in the country in St Mary's Park and we have also acquired an action centre. We are in the process of building a playground, a tennis court, a running track and a soccer pitch, as well as moving the main pitch to facilitate these developments. In an adjoining area we are building two full-size soccer pitches and a junior pitch.
Much of this work is being done by women, with pick and shovel - a far cry from Eamon de Valera's vision of comely maidens dancing at the cross road, - but much, much more practical. We have had our failures too, the main one being the loss through fire of a local boys' club administered by the St Vincent de Paul Society.
As a former member of the board of PAUL (People's Action Against Unemployment Limerick) I am aware of similar developments in the Ballinacurra Weston area. There are still many problems to be faced in our respective areas, but one thing has changed: we no longer sit around looking for sympathy. We now organise and demand justice. - Yours, etc.,
Lee Estate, Island Road, Limerick.