Madam, - It is hard to believe that Declan Kiberd could attempt to answer the question of why the coming of the Celtic Tiger took so long without mentioning the stultifying alliance in the earlier years of this State between a power-crazed Catholic Hierarchy and a rabidly nationalistic rump in the elected and administrative authorities.
Both put their own dogma and extreme conservatism way above the economic or social interests of the people, placing severe restrictions on mass education, for instance.
Mr Kiberd wants to know why economics took a century to catch up with culture and politics.
Well, while Ireland's entrepreneurs were escaping to the US, Australia, Canada, the UK and many other places, so too were many of its writers, musicians, painters and playwrights. But even when based in Paris or Vienna, James Joyce et al. remained Irish authors, while the Chuck Feeneys of the world were visible only in the economies of their adopted countries, at least until recently.
The politicians, unfortunately, stayed at home.
For a lot more on this topic, readers (and Mr Kiberd) should see Tom Garvin's book Preventing the Future: Why was Ireland so poor for so long? - Yours, etc,
SEAMUS McKENNA, Farrenboley Park, Windy Arbour, Dublin 14.
Madam, - I greatly enjoyed Declan Kiberd's article on "Our Epic Journey to Affluence" (Opinion, October 31st). He outlined many of the obstacles that stood in our way of economic "lift-off", but I was a surprised that one glaring obstacle - namely our political philosophy of self-sufficiency, battening down the hatches and going it alone - was omitted.
This closed-door policy led to complete economic stagnation. Millions of people fled our shores, mostly young people who got measured for shovels for the building sites of Britain. - Yours, etc,
ANNA HAYES, Corbawn Lane, Shankill, Co Dublin.