DENIS MURPHY,
Sir, - I suspect that many of those who have criticised the Jeanie Johnston project have never clapped eyes on the replica of that famous ship which is now sitting in Fenit, Co Kerry.
It is magnificent, wonderful. It is truly a testimony to the vision of those who conceived the project in the first instance and to the skills of the craftsmen and volunteers who worked on her. In respect of almost every criterion, it has been an outstanding success.
Concerns understandably have been raised about the cost overrun of the project; fair enough. However, many of these have been voiced with a vitriol that is both ugly and opportunist. It is as if we have never experienced cost overruns elsewhere. As I see it, the outturn of virtually every major capital project undertaken in this State is very different from original estimates, often by quantum amounts.
Some of the current invective is being aimed at Kerry County Council and Mr Martin Nolan, Kerry County Manager, who supported the project. We at Swansea Cork Ferries very much regret this as we have good reason to be grateful to the council's boldness of vision.
At a time when the departure of B and I from Cork in 1983 left the Southwest region without any sea link to the UK, it was Kerry County Council and its fellow councils in Cork and West Glamorgan in Wales which took the problem on and established their own ferry company a few years later. It was a brave, radical, innovative and, yes, risky decision.
Since then, Swansea Cork Ferries have carried over 2.5 million passengers into Cork and Kerry. On an annual basis, the service is worth some €40 million to the two counties in passenger spend alone. Where now are the critics of that original decision? Had they been listened to at the time, the tourism sector in Cork and Kerry would have atrophied.
Not everything works out perfectly. People who take risks expose themselves to criticism but the willingness to take risks is an essential pre-requisite for achievement.
Much has already been achieved through the Jeanie Johnston project. Now the critics have had their say, let us focus on the achievements of the project and on its rich potential for the future. - Yours, etc., DENIS MURPHY,
Chairman, Swansea Cork Ferries, South Mall, Cork.