Madam, - Hear, hear, for Paul Feighery on the subject of the M50 and Carrickmines "Castle".
Living within 200 yards of the site and having visited it on a number of occasions, I suggest that such a find would need to consist of more than a few drains and a few broken-down walls to be either of interest or value.
One might see some academics enthusing over it, but certainly not the general public.
I gather that almost all the interesting artefacts have already been removed.
Maybe if it were 1,000 years older it might have given some insight into how our ancestors lived in the dim past.
But it isn't, and I am quite sure that there are buildings still standing in Ireland that pre-date this "castle".
For those of us who may not have an opportunity of visiting the site and who may wonder what all the fuss is about, I would say that the best bits of it resemble a Galway stone wall that has been poorly maintained.
If I were a tourist in 2006 and visited the site on the recommendation of some promotional blurb, there can be no doubt that within five minutes of my arrival, I would be devouring the return bus schedules.
The quality of the whole thing is neither good enough nor old enough to be of much interest.
Paul Feighery is right. If, in running the country, we are to be stymied and side-tracked by every bizarre, crackpot and sectional interest, then well and good, but let us stop pretending that we live in a well-managed democracy. The greater good must prevail. It's called management.
Democracy requires that everyone gets a hearing, but not necessarily their way.
We need the M50; we've already got plenty of rubble. - Yours, etc.,
LIAM MURRAY, Glenamuck Road, Carrickmines, Dublin 18.