Ah shure, it isn't Ireland

Sir, – I am perplexed as to why people wanting to convey a certain “parochial” image of Ireland always invoke the word “shure…

Sir, – I am perplexed as to why people wanting to convey a certain “parochial” image of Ireland always invoke the word “shure” as if trying to indicate an ignorant pronunciation. S(h)urely this is only the correct phonetic pronunciation?

I can also reassure your correspondent that live bus displays being wildly inaccurate is not solely a Dublin phenomenon. I write this letter on a London bus that was 40 minutes late after spending that time alternating between three and five minutes to “due”. – Yours, etc,

CIAN MURPHY,

Woodlands Park Road,

London, England.