Madam, - What are we doing with the Abbey Theatre? To close it would be like closing Croke Park.
If the purpose of the Abbey is to make money, then hand it over to a professional impresario. However, if the purpose of the Abbey is to nurture new talent - playwrights, actors, directors, producers, stage staff - let it be run as a truly national theatre.
When Ireland was penniless, we supported the Abbey; in fact we were the only country in the world to have a subsidised theatre. I have travelled the world working in theatre, and the first subject of conversation was always "the Abbey".
I have no inside information about the board of the Abbey, but listening to the diversity of opinion of some of the directors interviewed on radio, I get the feeling that the board is split. This is a cancer in any creative organisation.
The Government should continue to subsidise the Abbey, but needs to look at the whole structure of it. The Abbey is one of our national treasures. Don't throw it in the Liffey. - Yours, etc.
FRED O'DONOVAN, Howth, Co Dublin