Sir, - People are rightly incensed at Mary Ellen Synon's sinister article in the Sunday Independent, but it is important to articulate why she is wrong instead of lapsing into spluttering expletives or silent disgust.
She is judging sporting achievement, and by extension all human achievement (she mentions Stephen Hawking's advances in astro-physics) by one standard only: that is, whoever is the "best, fastest, highest", etc. By this logic, women shouldn't be accredited in the Olympics - they are not the best and fastest of the world. Surely the point of the Olympics is achieving excellence in one's own category ? This is why women and men do not race together, lightweight and heavyweight boxers fight different matches, Olympics are distinct from Paralympics, and so on.
She is advocating one, exclusive standard of excellence; and under the hollow claim of "diversity", her newspaper is promoting fascism. - Yours, etc.,
Jessie Magee, Blessingtion, Co Wicklow.