A chara, - As a tour guide for American visitors to Ireland, I am not pleased with the news of the Shannon phase-out. We prefer the West, with its rugged beauty and its connections to Irish culture and - yes - the language. (Isn't it ironic that the US government and the UN are spending billions to preserve obscure languages in remote areas of the world because "when the language is lost, the culture is lost"?)
My father, Dr Eoin McKiernan, brought thousands of American tourists to Ireland in his lifetime (and was awarded Bord Fáilte's UDI Award). He would turn in his grave at this latest development. - Yours, etc,
DÉIRDRE McKIERNAN HETZLER,
Scottsville,
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New York,
USA.