Sir, - On a recent return home to Limerick from Dublin where I attend university, I was more than a little disappointed to hear the slogan of a local Limerick radio station which declares as an introduction to its broadcasting merits: "Not from Dublin, designed exclusively for Limerick City and County, the New 95 FM."
Two points become apparent here. Firstly, that a radio station or indeed any other media organisation may choose to define itself not by what it is, but rather by what it is not, has an obvious underlying inferiority complex. It is truly bewildering that a group of professional broadcasters from Limerick - or from any other county for that matter - could expect an audience to take them seriously when they themselves define their station in terms of a non-entity.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, when taken in a national context, slogans such as this express smouldering parochial sentiments which are at complete variance with the notion of a united Ireland or indeed a united Europe. In fact, they are more consistent with the rural 1930s Ireland which Kavanagh loathes in Inniskeen Road: July Evening, that of "the half-talk code of mysteries and the winkand-elbow language of delight." Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose? - Yours, etc.,
Ruaidhri P. Kirwan, Park Roe, Bally Clough, Co Limerick.
