Sir, - I loved the photograph in your edition of Saturday, July 24th, of the tern feeding her chick on the beach at Kilcoole. Birdwatch Ireland and Duchas are to be commended for their work in protecting this species, as is The Irish Times for recognising it in this manner.
The photograph was particularly significant for me as I had found a dead tern on the beach at Strand Road, Sutton, the previous day. It was ringed twice with the numbers KS33 and SX44886. I'm sure this will be of interest to all those involved in protecting the tern.
Ironically, while terns enjoy the protection of these organisations in Kilcoole, a significant part of their north Dublin Bay habitat, Strand Road beach, Sutton, faces virtual extinction under tons of concrete if a proposed development is authorised by Fingal County Council and the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, under whose authority Duchas exists.
May I, through your columns, implore the relevant personnel in Duchas to publicly state their position on this development as the lack of such a statement is being interpreted by the planning authority as consent? It will be a tragedy if such a significant wildlife habitat inside Dublin Bay is privatised and obliterated without as much as a comment, let alone an official statement, from the very body charged with responsibility to examine and advise the authorities on such issues.
I hate to point the finger at such a worthy organisation as Duchas, but its unwillingness to publicly state its position on one of the most significant threats to the wildlife of the bay is inexplicable. - Yours, etc.,
Colette Cody, Strand Road, Sutton, Dublin 13.