Sir, – It was heartening to read Patsy McGarry's tribute to missionaries and gardaí ("Goodwill to all NGOs, gardaí and the church", Rite & Reason, December 16th).
May I add Sr Mary Sweeney of Dungloe, Donegal, working in Sierra Leone for 40 years? I heard her heart-rending account of the Ebola crisis now raging around her school on RTE's Morning Ireland. She told of one boy who has lost every single member of his enlarged family. She and her community are struggling to fight the disease in their new clinic under terrible conditions. Her school was levelled during the civil war but she rebuilt it and no doubt her faith and courage will endure through this trial too. Yes, as Patsy says, it "feels great to be Irish" but let's continue to support and cherish those on the front lines. – Yours, etc,
ALEX REID
Donegal Town.