ROBERT McKEOWN,
Sir, - As if we hadn't enough four-letter words! We've had the C word, the F word and the S word. Now, thanks to John Gormley, we have the B word.
According to my dictionary, to "b--- in" means to intrude or to meddle. Presumably Mr Gormley's phrase, to "b--- out", means not to intrude or not to meddle. Of course he should have respectfully requested our President not to intrude and not to meddle and to remember that she is the President of all the Irish people, not just the Yes voters but also the No voters - and even of those who decide, for whatever reason, not to vote at all.
Having made a statement in the name of the minority of Irish voters about the importance of the Nice Treaty, Mrs McAleese might now consider making a statement, in the interests of balance, in the name of the majority of Irish voters and non-voters about the unimportance of the Nice Treaty. - Yours, etc.,
ROBERT McKEOWN, Sandymount, Dublin 4.