Sir, - In Cork recently, two young lads coming home from a chip shop were knocked down by a stolen car, driven by an 18-year-old. Both victims are dead. In his article on car-stealing by young men in The Irish Times (March 20th), Kieran McGrath writes: "Access to a car is usually not within their grasp - without stealing one - and in all probability, the prospects of owning one arc remote.
At the age of 18, I did not have access to a bicycle. My father died when I was 16, leaving my mother with six children, aged from seven to twenty. My older brother and sister and myself were working, and contributed almost everything we earned to the family income. As the younger members of the family reached the age of 15 and 16, they also went to work.
At school and at home, we were told that every child knew the difference between right and wrong from the age of seven, and we were expected to behave accordingly. When he was dying, my father told us: "If you take your coat off, you will always make a living." My mother's motto was: "He (God) fits the back for the burden." We never heard of social workers! - Yours, etc.,
Torquay Road, Foxrock,
Dublin 18.