Sir, – Aoife Lord (Letters, March 3rd) comments that one of the joys of gong abroad on holiday is that one rarely hears swear words. While I do not share Ms Lord’s sensitivity, I do agree with her observation.
Some years ago while walking down Fifth Avenue in New York, I was surprised to hear a nearby outburst of effing and blinding in decidedly Irish accents. Turning around I saw two fresh-faced young men with very obvious dark smudges on their foreheads.
It was Ash Wednesday! – Yours, etc,
LOUIS O’FLAHERTY,
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Santry,
Dublin 9.
Sir, – Someone who learned to speak English here told me that one word more than any other helped him to acquire fluency in the language. – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN GRIMES,
Skerries,
Co Dublin.
