Sir, - Fintan O'Toole (Opinion, September 3rd) reflects on the ephemeral effects of the visit of Pope John Paul to Ireland 20 years ago (yes, those "papal chairs" are still rusting in our garden-shed).
Would the visit have had more lasting impact if the Pope's advisers had persuaded him to join the President of Ireland and the senior diplomats and politicians who gathered with a huge interdenominational congregation in St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin to celebrate his coming? In the opinion of the Garda officer in charge of his transport arrangements, that would have been the most important thing he could have done for Ireland and so Garda outriders were kept at the Nunciature all evening just in case there might have been a sudden decision to respond in person to the heart-warming appeal of St Patrick's joyful bells.
John Paul's pilgrimage to Canterbury was a milestone. If similar witness were given in Ireland, would it have mattered? At this remove it is difficult to say, but a policeman often tends to have a feel for the needs of his time. - Yours, etc.,
Una O'Higgins-O'Malley, Glann, Oughterard, Co. Galway.