Sir, - It was with considerable shock and foreboding that I read under the heading, "Do we really need all this greenness?", a suggestion by Colm McCarthy of DKM that "under-utilised" parks such as St Anne's in Raheny are largely "not worth having" (The Irish Times, May 16th.
I wonder if these worthies have ever visited the park, which must be one of the most beautiful in the country. It combines the formal aspects of the Rose Garden, an arboretum and a fabulous children's playground with an astonishing wilderness spotted with various follies that have unfortunately fallen into disrepair. Mr McCarthy says that women won't walk there even during the day. Not true. I go there regularly and often meet many women by themselves, women with kids, kids by themselves. There have occasionally been unpleasant incidents. But there have been many more in Fairview Park, nearer where I live.
We need parks like St Anne's in the city, not just the over-manicured sort such as Herbert Park, much praised by Mr McCarthy, but places where we can breathe. Sure, we need housing too, but not at the expense of such an amenity. Think of developing and restoring its glory, rather than building all over it. A nasty suspicion lurks in my mind that, after all, St Anne's is on the north side of the city. A bit beyond the Pale? - Yours, etc.,
Susan Knight, Croydon Green, Marino, Dublin 3.