Madam, - As a Dubliner, I read with much disappointment but little surprise that the Cow Parade exhibition on the streets of Dublin has had to be confined to the security of parks and shopping malls due to mindless vandalism.
I have lived in London for six years and last year this particular exhibition ran on the streets of the city bringing much needed colour to the otherwise grimy and grey urban landscape. To my knowledge the exhibition was never subjected to the kind of vandalism that has been perpetrated in Dublin.
What does this say about Dublin and it's inhabitants? For me it merely confirms my view (and that of a growing number of people in the UK and elsewhere) that Dublin, if not Ireland, has become a violent, nasty and dirty place where nothing of cultural or artistic interest is of any value. What is of value is how many euro you have in your pocket and how many pints of lager you can down in the latest so-called trendy bar.
On my frequent visits home for weekends I have become increasingly embarrassed (in front of my girlfriend who comes from the Continent) by the levels of drunkenness, random violence, foul language and general filth that seems to be the norm in the city, particularly at night.
- Yours, etc.,
DERMOT O REILLY, London SW12.