Madam, – How fantastic to see the lead story on every news bulletin and in every newspaper feature our brave sporting heroes: the Irish rugby team and Bernard Dunne. Have we ever seen such determination, such self-belief and such huge courage in one historic sporting day? Most pleasing is the honesty and modesty that these sporting heroes have in abundance and continue to show when under the most severe pressure.
We tip our caps to them and thank them for reminding us of all the good traits we have as a nationality. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The country is on its knees, unemployment rates are soaring and recessionary doom and gloom lurk in the air. But there is one thing that is unbreakable: the Irish spirit. Congratulations to the Irish rugby team, Declan Kidney and all backroom and frontroom staff on a fantastic victory.
It was refreshing to see people forget about problems and, for just a few hours, feel on top of the world again. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – We have a public sector at war with the private sector, we are the laughing stock of the world economy, we have scum shooting people supposedly in our name in the North, but look what we can achieve by working together, all 32 counties of us. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – On this side of the pond we can effectively choose our car licence plates. Limited to seven characters, I had named my car 3CRWN06. I’m glad to say it now becomes GSLAM09 – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Following the magnificent achievement of the Irish rugby team, would it be appropriate to suggest that the Championship and Triple Crown trophies tour schools and clubs throughout the island in the hope of inspiring a new generation of O’Driscolls, O’Connells and Hayeses? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – “Honesty . . . hard work”. These were Declan Kidney’s words after Ireland’s Grand Slam victory in Wales on Saturday evening. Our politicians and bankers might take a leaf from his book in these tough economic times. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – We have repeatedly been advised by both Irish and EU authorities that we should minimise our consumption of fossil fuels.
Given the current climate, was it necessary to use flares of gas to introduce the Welsh and Irish teams as they entered the Millennium Stadium on Saturday evening? A bad example, surely? In the meantime, congratulations to the Irish rugby team for producing the fireworks. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Given difficult economic times, the country is badly in need of good news. On that basis, the entire Irish rugby team and coaching staff deserve our strongest congratulations for their outstanding achievement in winning the Six Nations Tournament Grand Slam. Brian O’Driscoll, as captain, has iron-cast his reputation as one of the greatest players of his generation, while Declan Kidney, having already won the European Cup with Munster, has further confirmed his status as a world-class coach.
Such achievements further point to the case for an Irish honours system to be introduced. All members of the English cricket team who beat Australia in the Ashes series in 2005, for example, have a honour from the UK bestowed upon them that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. A number of Irish citizens have also received honours from the UK – the country most associated here with such a system. Other countries have similarly rewarded Irish people. The late Irish actor Richard Harris, for example, received a knighthood from Denmark in 1985 in recognition of his achievements.
In addition to rewarding high-profile successes, an honours system can act as an official state acknowledgment of work that is important, but would have a low media profile.
An honours system would acknowledge those who, like the Irish rugby team, have become role models through hard work and dedication in a certain field, and I believe this would benefit Irish society as a whole. – Yours, etc,