Sir, - Austin Clarke was not the only one who condemned places of detention many years ago. In the late 1940s I attended a lecture given by the late Fr Flanagan of "Boys' Town" fame in the Savoy Cinema in Cork. Having seen the film and the reforms put in place by Fr Flanagan, I went in with my head high believing that no such horrors could obtain in Ireland.
Alas, I came out very much ashamed of my country and those running it having heard the lecturer castigating the conditions in our institutions and prisons. As we know now his words fell on deaf ears and no improvements were put in place. Yours, etc., Maura Teegan,
Bishopstown, Cork.