Sir, - As a sometime Dubliner, may I be permitted to offer a futile but heartfelt note of protest at a current example of barbarism in relation to ancient structures. The officially sanctioned vandalism which will see the Church of St Mary, Mary Street, transmogrified into a DIY retailer is shabby in every sense of the word. It is also proof positive (as though one needed it) of Joyce's observation that in Ireland Christ and Caesar are hand in glove. All those concerned in this act of philistinism should be pilloried.
May I also offer the opinion that the mountain of empty alcoholic drinks containers which currently festoon the entrance to the disused Iveagh Markets be documented as a symbol of Dublin in this pre-millennial year. As a first stage in the process, this site should be adopted as a postcard image of the city for the edification of a world-wide audience. It would also serve as an original graphic on any revamped Dublin Corporation web-page.
Finally, the whole should be cast in bronze and accorded the status of civic monument. Perhaps those who will profit from the desecration of St Mary's can be persuaded to provide the necessary sponsorship. - Yours, etc.,
Richard Smyth, Coventry, Warwickshire, England.