Sir, - In last Saturday's Irish Times, Maeve Binchy wrote about of people she had met who had trouble with Mary Banotti's name because it was "foreign".
The solution is simple: from now on, Banotti should be pronounced with the accent on the first and third syllables. This will make it sound like the Irish "Bean a' Tighe". This has nice, homely connotations which I believe will add hugely to Ms Banotti's appeal throughout the country. - Yours, etc.,
Vincent Mac Carthy,
Sandycove, Co Dublin.