Sir, - I am one of a team of 11 from the Pension Service Office that took part in the Dublin City Marathon to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland. There were over 6,500 people from all over Ireland and the rest of Europe, along with 1,700 Americans who were there with their supporters and a camera team.
Millions of punts/euros were raised by the efforts of these thousands and yet, consider the TV coverage. One miserable programme by RTE on Network 2 at 10.45 p.m. and then on RTE 1 at 4.25 a.m. (a repeat of the Network 2 programme).
We have four national television stations with our licence money going into their pockets as well as huge amounts of our taxes. Each one of these channels buys in bucket-loads of muck from the US and passes it off as entertainment. Yet, like the mini-marathon when over 44,000 people descend on Dublin for good causes, these fat cats in Dublin and Galway could not be bothered to produce a homegrown programme that would be of interest to all of the participants and all their friends and relations.
I am disgusted that all these fat cats could not be bothered to cover the Dublin City Marathon. Is RTE not bothered because 98FM sponsor it? TV3 and TG4 have absolutely no excuse. Shame on them all. -Yours, etc.,
David McKenna, Town Commissioner, Boyle, Co Roscommon.