Sir, – Ella McSweeney’s excellent piece on the state of our rivers brought my thoughts back some 40 years ago, when I was living in Dublin (“Is there an Irish river I can drink from without vomiting?”, Environment, May 2nd).
Being a keen marathon runner, I would regularly run a 20-mile course on Sunday mornings as part of my training. My return route was along the Strawberry Beds, where it was relatively easy to access the Liffey bank. This was my only “water break”. I would simply scoop a couple of handfuls of Liffey water into my mouth and continue my run home.
The fact that I never got sick was surely proof of the relatively clean state of the Liffey during the 1980s. However, I would strongly advise against any athletes using this form of “water break” now, having read McSweeney’s piece. – Yours, etc,
DENIS KENNY,
READ MORE
Thurles,
Co Tipperary.
Sir, – In his response to Ella McSweeney’s excellent article about the terrible state of Irish waterways Ola Løkken Nordrum (Letters, 4th May) says he disagrees with her characterisation of this situation as a “shameful failure of governance”.
He writes that the use of the word “failure” suggests a mistake was made. He calls for clarity of “language and sentiment”.
I would suggest his own language does not accurately describe the issue, however. The word “failure” does not necessarily suggest “a mistake was made”. It seems clear what McSweeney was saying was that governance did not work as it should, which is not the same as saying “a mistake was made”.
Nordrum’s writes that our politicians have “decided” that our waterways “should” be unfit for swimming or drinking. It would be more correct to state that it was not their objective that this would happen but they did not care if it did, as a side effect of achieving other objectives, which they deemed more important.
McSweeney’s articles on environmental issues are notable for their refreshing clarity. As for Nordrum, McSweeney and myself – whatever about the debate around the use of language – I think it is safe to say that when it comes to concern for the state of our lakes and rivers we are “on the same page”! – Yours, etc,
KATHERINE QUIRKE,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Ella McSweeney has hit the nail on the head with her article on clean rivers. As she says, “part of the problem is the grey language” using phrases that seem to be get-out clauses.
If you can drink the water and not get sick or swim in the water and not have diarrhoea then these are the standards that should be sought.
Unfortunately, we have a long way to go. The aim and language should be crystal clear, the way the water in our rivers should be. – Yours, etc,
DENNIS HAWKE,
Letterkenny,
Co Donegal.
