Madam, - The photograph in your edition of March 20th of children throwing snowballs at members of the PSNI in Crossmaglen was accompanied by a call by DUP Assembly member Ian Paisley jnr that "this sort of behaviour is totally unacceptable and must stop".
I wonder if the historical significance of Mr Paisley's statement has dawned on him.
In a report in The Irish Times of January 15th, 1965, when former taoiseach Sean Lemass was invited to Belfast for talks with the former prime minister of Northern Ireland, Capt Terence O'Neill, Mr Paisley's father, the Rev Ian Paisley, and some supporters who rejected any dealings with Dublin threw snowballs at Mr Lemass's car.
In a further report by Fergus Pyle in The Irish Times of December 12th, 1967, former taoiseach Jack Lynch, on a visit to Stormont for talks with Prime Minister O'Neill, suffered the same fate from the serial snowballer the Rev Ian Paisley, who was accompanied by the Rev Ivan Foster and the Rev Willie McCrea. All three clergymen were arrested for public order offences.
Roll on global warming. - Yours, etc,
TOM COOPER, Delaford Lawn, Knocklyon, Dublin 16.