Madam, - Much as I admire Kevin Myers's Irishman's Diary, I do wish he would refrain from using the term "bien-pensant".
I'm not altogether sure, but I would hazard a guess that the vast majority of your good readers are not exactly familiar with this rather recondite expression. What does it mean in English? - Yours, etc.,
PAUL DELANEY, Beacon Hill, Dalkey, Co Dublin.