Madam, - Ah yes, the "craic". But what is it?
Is it the revellers reeling from pubs and clubs at weekends, drinking, vomiting, fighting and saying "f--k"? Is it very young boys sleeping rough, in danger of assault?
Is it road-rage, rude shop assistants and telephonists, piles of rubbish, with large rats sampling the discarded take-aways? Is it the astronomical charges for everything in this country, overweight people under baseball caps over-eating, drinking and addicted to everything? Is it the injured people in A&E units, victims of muggings, beatings or car accidents?
Is it the cailín in the denim bell-bottoms, with the tattered hems, worn at half-mast, showing cleavage fore and aft, cursing into her mobile, or screaming at the baby in the buggy? Is it Cork, the City of Culture, with broken pavements, barricades and promises of a fine drenching when speeding cars career along the water-logged channels?
If this is "craic" and a microcosm of Ireland, I'd opt for Baghdad, even now! - Yours, etc.,
MAUREEEN McALISTER, Tara Court, Glasheen, Cork.