Sir, - Your editorial of December 30th justifies Dublin's disproportionate share of tourism growth by the fact that it is a capital city "with a range of internationally known attractions" - attractions which you then fail to identify. Do you mean Marks & Spencer, Boots, Virgin Records and the like, which are indisputably internationally known? If, as I suspect, you do not, your view of Dublin may suffer from the self-deluding syndrome known as millenniumclockitis.
The features of Dublin which are best known internationally are those of (mostly) dead writers and (mostly) living rock stars. Other Irish locations such as Killarney, Blarney Castle, Galway Bay, the Giant's Causeway and the Mountains of Mourne are far better known abroad than any of the specific attractions of the fair city, let alone a range of them.
You add that it would be "a grave policy mistake to think that a government can influence tourists to go to Donegal if in fact they want to go to Dublin". I agree. But by the same token the policies of successive governments have created the pathetic transport infrastructure which severely inhibits those, clearly sad, people who might want to come and visit us in Donegal rather than enjoy the delights of your lovely little city. - Yours, etc.,
Ballyraine Park, Letterkenny, Co Donegal.
