Madam, - As I really enjoy Frank McNally's Irishman's Diary I usually turn first to this page of the newspaper. But last Friday I was appalled and disgusted to see a Diary which was mainly about hurling adorned by a picture of a bullfighter in front of a wounded and bloodied bull.
Those who take part in the game of hurling do so voluntarily. With some exceptions they usually emerge at the end of the encounter alive and well. The bull, on the other hand, is bred and trained for no other reason than to be taunted, tortured and eventually killed in the most cruel manner imaginable. He is set up in a situation where he cannot win, where the only thing in question is how long he will have to suffer before he succumbs to death.
While I am sure that Frank McNally intended his article to be amusing and entertaining, the cruelty involved in bullfighting cannot be taken as a fit subject for levity by anyone who is even vaguely interested in animal welfare. - Yours, etc,
CARMEL COURTNEY, Sandyford Road, Dublin 16.