Sir, - There are things that Jim Yates (August 11th) doesn't understand.
President McAleese is the President of us all - no matter what sort of accents we have, or what sort of hats we wear, or whether or not we are pompous and elitist, or whether we strut or walk. It really doesn't matter whether we live in Dublin 4 or near the bogs of Mayo, as I do.
Those of us who breed half-bred horses have a vote, as do those who groom them, ride them and muck out their stables. We take our horses to the RDS each August and hope that some of them will sold. The breeding of these horses is an industry.
I first went to the Horse Show in 1958 and I have been there virtually every year since then. I saw Presidents Sean T. O'Kelly, De Valera and all the others who followed. Such excitement, such pageantry, such a thrill! This year - such a let-down! - Yours, etc., Monica Flanagan,
Moylaw, Crossmolina, Co Mayo.