Madam, - A report in your edition of November 17th headed, "Decision soon on skyscrapers" refers to Windsor House in Belfast as being the tallest building in Ireland at 80 metres, Cork City Hall as the tallest in this State at 64.3 metres, and Liberty Hall in Dublin as the tallest in Dublin at 58 metres.
As a proud resident of Limerick City I wish to point out that all of these are dwarfed by our own St John's Cathedral, whose tower is 93.95 metres in height.
The Guinness Book of Records regards a church tower and spire as being a building, so I am a loss to understand why this magnificent structure (which is based on on the tallest spire in Britain, that of Salisbury Cathedral) has been overlooked in this fashion. It has been Ireland's tallest building for 121 years since its completion in 1883 and generations of Limerick people living in its shadow have been proud to declare that they were born "under the tower".
At a time when new buildings are mushrooming at a phenomenal rate all over the country, it would be well for the Celtic Tiger generation to recall the achievements of their predecessors in constructing such edifices which, if likely soon to be surpassed in height, are unlikely to be bettered in terms of their quality and beauty. - Yours, etc.,
Dr MATTHEW POTTER, Slugaire, Dooradoyle Road, Limerick.