Sir, - It is clear from Vincent Browne's column of February 24th that he has the same admiration for Charlie Haughey as a schoolboy would have for a derring-do comic book hero. This type of hero worship is quite understandable in children who can innocently enjoy the exploits of fictional characters without having to worry about real-life consequences. However, it is disquieting to see a journalist of the standing and influence of Vincent Browne so blind to the serious damage that Mr Haughey, and the culture he engendered, have done to this country. Mr Browne is especially impressed by the obvious contempt in which Mr Haughey held the banks. Presumably this is because Mr Browne looks on banks as "baddies", so it's okay to put one over on them. In other words, two wrongs do make a right.
On his radio show, Mr Browne, in discussion with the Dick Walsh of The Irish Times, made the point that it was better to have a strong government under someone like Mr Haughey with "a little" corruption on the side than a weak government which was honest. It is this type of crooked thinking which made it possible for Mr Haughey and his supporters to act as they did in the 1980s and for which the citizens of this country are now paying a heavy price. - Yours, etc.,
Anthony Sheridan, Carraig Eoin, Cobh, Co Cork.