Sir, - As a member of Aosdana I'd like to state that I'm a bit sick of people like Terence Ryan (September 18th) describing members of Aosdana in terms such as "State-featherbedded".
I compose music, I'm good at it, and I work hard. Like most of the cnuas-receiving members of Aosdana, and like many an artist before me, I need a patron. Since capitalists as a rule are not generous sponsors, it falls willy-nilly on the state to support creative artists, which our particular State does through Aosdana. The system isn't perfect, but it's all we've got at the moment. As for being "State-featherbedded", £8,750 a year at the bottom line isn't exactly a vast sum of money, is it? How would Terence Ryan do living on it? - Yours, etc., Fergus Johnston,
Aosdana, Merrion Square, Dublin 2.