A chara, - Kevin Myers branded me and another of your letter-writers "lesser-spotted trites" (An Irishman's Diary, October 4th) for making suggestions about dealing with world hunger and arms manufacturers.
I cannot presume to speak for the other contributor, but on the subject of world hunger, Mr Myers suggests that I somehow appear to have said that dropping food on the hungry will end all of the world's ills.
Nothing could be further from the truth. I, like any reasonably educated person, realise that there is more to tackling hunger than simply giving succour to kleptocracies.
However what Mr Myers apparently fails to realise is that I have only the space of a letter in which to get across my point (and we are warned that letters may be abbreviated) and I am obliged to be brief. Mr Myers, on the other hand, can use the acres of space at his disposal to ridicule those who don't have the same advantage.
Please don't allow Mr Myers to bully those who take the time and effort to contribute to your paper - or at the very least, permit us a right to reply. - Is mise,
Paul Linehan, Thormanby Road, Howth, Co Dublin.