Sir, - Your editorial on the state reception for Cardinal Connell (May 15th) expresses the view that, with a little tact on both sides, the embarrassment surrounding the matter might have been avoided. I am curious as to how you came to this conclusion.
The Government offered the civic reception; the Department of the Taoiseach issued the invitation couched in the terms already well publicised; the cardinal was the guest of honour. I fail to see how a lack of tact on the part of the cardinal or his office could have given rise to the problem. That the invitation was tactless may well be true, but you can hardly blame the guest of honour for the manner in which it was issued - unless, of course, you have some information suggesting that a cardinal has an unsuspected ability to lay down the conditions on which he will attend a State reception in his honour and the wording of invitations to it.
You have allowed your zeal for apportioning blame to the Catholic Church or its representatives to blind you to the obvious: the blunder was made entirely by and within the Taoiseach's department.
Their acute awareness that they were to blame was made clear when they refused to reveal the protocol guidelines by which they operate in these matters when asked to do so by Marion Finucane as reported on RTE radio. She was told she would have to go down the tortuous path of the Freedom of Information Act, which could take months to reach a conclusion.
I understand that she proposes to do so. Perhaps when the relevant information is finally released you may see fit to revisit your conclusion as to where blame should lie. - Yours, etc.,
J. M. McDowell, Wasdale Grove, Dublin 6,