Madam, - Thomas McCarthy's article on Cork (Weekend Review, January 8th) must rank as one of the most ridiculous pieces of journalism ever to appear in your paper. An essay on Cork's positive side need not be characterised by a fawning, overblown hyperbole.
No, Cork is not "a refuge of artists and poets"; no, Cork is not "almost like a city Republic"; no, Cork does not have a permanent festival atmosphere. As for Cork speaking "to the nation and to Europe", here McCarthy seems to have been completely carried away by self-delusion. A city that gets a miserly two visits a year from the National Symphony Orchestra is hardly in a position to speak from on high in a cultural context. - Yours, etc.,
ANTHONY HARTNETT, Chestnut Grove, Bishopstown, Cork.