Sir, - I find it regrettable that the football match between Donegal Celtic and the RUC was not played. It could have exemplified the spirit of the Olympic ideal of "peace through sport". We have among us a warring mentality and a sporting mentality which operate on entirely different levels.
The warring mentality in Belfast has produced brutality, death and destruction, for whatever cause, resulting in the intimidation of all other mentalities. Some of the worst elements of human nature have found expression in the gun, the bomb and the baseball bat.
In a world traumatised by war, playing is an activity to be encouraged. The warring mentality feels threatened by the freedom to engage in playing but, as the great majority of Donegal Celtic FC wanted to play, surely it was time for Gerry Adams and Sinn Fein to give the playing mentality a chance. They have lost an ideal opportunity to show that although they were not prepared to meet the RUC on uneven political ground, they welcomed, in the interests of democracy, an opportunity to meet them on a level playing-field. - Yours, etc.,
Brendan O'Reilly,
Moyne Road,
Dublin 6.