Sir, – I was deeply moved by Michael Harding's sensitive portrayal of families "saying goodbye" at Knock Airport ("Subtle and awkward silences as families say goodbye at Knock Airport", December 31st). He perfectly captured the bittersweet intertwining of silence, sadness, love and hope that I experienced at such moments when returning to London in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Thank you, Michael. – Yours, etc,
JOHN NAUGHTON,
Leopardstown,
Dublin 18.
Sir, – It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Michael Harding’s words are worth a thousand pictures. – Yours, etc,
TIM RYAN,
Dunboyne,
Co Meath.
Sir, – No doubt there are many parents at airports around the country this week experiencing all of the emotions so beautifully captured by Michael Harding last Saturday. As the mother composed herself to say her goodbyes, “her face muscles struggled to be still as pain and love wrestled inside her for dominion”. Well done. – Yours, etc,
DICK REEVES,
Kilmacanogue,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – I was really touched emotionally by Michael Harding’s article. Rightly he mentions the 1950s, when things were very different. I remember fond farewells on the platform of Swinford station a few miles from Knock.
We underestimate the vast differences between then and now. For one thing, many emigrants went not just for a year or two, but never to return.
An extra dimension to their sad plight is that some never married, and many died homeless and younger than the average age. Often the only contact they had with home was whispered in pubs in Hammersmith and Manchester.
The lives of these people have rarely been written about.
As an emigrant myself, I would like to pay tribute to those unknown heroes and heroines. I have been involved in a few of their funerals. As often happens, only when they have said their final earthly farewell is it revealed the rich contribution they made to their adopted country. – Yours, etc,
Fr TOM GRUFFERTY
Christchurch,
Dorset.
Sir, – I cannot believe that Michael Harding travelled from Leitrim to Knock Airport and back without encountering an ex-girlfriend or an attractive woman at the bar of an hotel. He must be slipping. – Yours, etc,
JOE CARROLL,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.