Sir, - David Fay (May 4th) states that the sole accomplishment of the film Sweety Barrett is to make "the grimy town of Balbriggan look even seedier and more inhospitable than usual". As if he hadn't sufficiently embarrassed himself, he adds: "if that is possible."
I am disappointed that you would choose to publish such a comment. It is hurtful and totally irrelevant to the point he seeks to make. It is not the first time my home town has been maligned in your paper and I feel compelled to respond. Indeed, your Letters page has become a forum for cheap broadsides against some towns, although at least the letter which offended Limerick readers contained a modicum of wit. On the evidence presented it is hardly surprising that Mr Fay's previous efforts to get his name in print in your paper have been unsuccessful. One can only assume that after the long holiday weekend worthwhile contributions were scarce.
Balbriggan certainly has its problems, but now that we no longer are host to the daily grind of Dublin-Belfast traffic, many of these are on the mend. We look forward to the day when we too will live in as problem-free a neighbourhood as the one from which Mr Fay hurls his stones: Cabra. - Yours, etc., Cormac Monaghan,
Old Castlelands, Balbriggan, Co Dublin.