Madam, – As a former religious affairs correspondent of your newspaper, could I urge you to send your present one, Patsy McGarry, to the Auschwitz extermination camp memorial as a follow-up to his visit to Tommy Tiernan’s recent live show in Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon. (Opinion, October 13th).
As Mr McGarry walks around the remains of the gas chambers and crematoria where millions of Jewish children, women and men died, I would like to think he would write a more reflective piece on the Tommy Tiernan who made such “jokes” at a previous event as: “F---ing six million? I would have got 10 or 12 million out of that. No f---ing problem. Two at a time they would have gone. Hold hands. Get in there. Leave us your teeth and your glasses.” I could hardly believe that Mr McGarry, an excellent Religious Affairs Correspondent, could describe “the recent fuss” about Tiernan’s “jokes” as “so much ado about nothing”. Mr McGarry gives Tiernan licence to make these appalling “jokes” because of his “creativity which takes possession of him”. My God, can this be creativity?
On second thoughts, Madam Editor, why not send Tommy Tiernan to Auschwitz as well so that he can swap notes with your Religious Affairs Correspondent about the “karma of the road home”, whatever that is. – Yours etc,
JOE CARROLL,
Maretimo Gardens,
Blackrock, Co Dublin.
