A chara, - Seldom have I encountered a more important message in the sports pages of your paper than that contained in Paul Weaver's interview with David Jones (October 20th). Jones was the manager of the Southampton Premiership Football Club until he was accused of child abuse. He became unemployed, faced the full rigours of the law, and after some years emerged an innocent man.
In Ireland we are confronting our own "terrible vista" of treatment meted out to children in the past. This is as it should be. But would it not be sad and reprehensible if, in doing so, we created another tier of victims?
The tyranny of political correctness tempts us to travel down that road. This has been only too obvious in the mass media in recent years, as certain categories of people have been regularly vilified and condemned. The courts have not been immune to political correctness.
The recent outrage expressed against John Waters and Magill for their temerity in expressing some salient points on the matter illustrates the difficulty we face.
The only significant pointer to fairness and commonsense entering the arena has emerged from the recent pronouncements of the Supreme Court. When that body finally got the opportunity to deal with child abuse allegations, it laid down markers, which I trust the Garda, the legal profession, the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the lower courts will note. We already have enough victims, past as well as recent. - Yours, etc.,
Tony Jordan, Gilford Road, Dublin 4.