Madam, - Your writer's assertion ("Thinking Aloud: Death where is thy sting", GF, July 10th), that death is a "construct of the Devil" struck me as an echo from the dark ages. Birth, procreation and death are natural phenomena. The Devil is a religious "construct" developed to exploit a fear of a hellish afterlife - another religious "construct".
Certainly, to see lives cut down before their prime is a heart-rending experience but most of us in this part of the world will live to see old age. I have put in my three-score and ten years. I now attend more funerals than weddings..It gladdens me to see that modern funerals are simpler ceremonies than those of past ages. They are now positive acts to celebrate the life of a loved and respected friend. It seems to me that the fear of death naturally fades with age. A greater fear is that of disabling pain, despair of recovery, degradation and indignity. Other countries, have regularised the procedure of the Living Will. This allows sane persons to decide whether artificial medical means should, or should not, be used to prolong their illness- stricken lives. Ireland should follow suit. - Yours, etc.,
JOSEPH HACKETT, Victoria Road, Co Wicklow.