Sir, - I would like to state my objection as a parent of three young children to your front-page photograph (July 20th), showing the clothes of Niall Murphy, the five-year-old who drowned along with his sister Trisha on Trβ M≤r beach in Belmullet, Co Mayo, the previous day.
I found the photograph upsetting and an unnecessary and insensitive intrusion into the tragic deaths of the children as well as the grief of their family.
I know a good picture is worth a thousand words. But I felt this particular picture was cold, lacked compassion and was sensational, which I felt would further compound the grief of the Murphy family as well as other families who have had children die in similar circumstances. - Yours, etc.,
Patrick Gates, Ballybough, Dublin 3.