Madam, - Further to Stephanie McDermott's letter of October 11th, I have recently returned to Ireland having spent some years living in Budapest, and can say our "manners" are in stark contrast to those of our fellow EU-citizens in Hungary. At seven months pregnant, I have not once been offered a seat on the Dart or indeed the Drogheda train, let alone a place on railway station benches. In Budapest, I was never left standing on a tram or bus.
Perhaps Irish commuters really are engrossed in their newspapers and books, eyes down and unseeing - or perhaps on this island we simply lack the courtesy of our central European counterparts. - Yours, etc,
FÍONA NÍ CHINNÉIDE, Malahide, Co Dublin.