Madam, - Given the deservedly excellent reputation that your newspaper's letters page has established over the past number of decades, I was horrified to see last Saturday that you authorised publication of a ridiculous and rambling tirade from David Barnwell, which included pearls such as "many Irish people are infrequent users of shower or bath".
If this idiotic sentence had contained the word "Nigerian", "Welsh" or any other nationality besides Irish, then you would unquestioningly and correctly have thrown Mr Barnwell's letter in the recycling bin.
Such trite, incendiary and baseless remarks have no place in such an august and respected publication. - Is mise,
DAMIAN McEVOY, Caledon Road, East Wall, Dublin 3.