Madam - Traveller organisations must take seriously the real reason why many vintners do not wish to serve Travellers in their pubs. Vintners are, at the end of the day, business people. Subsequently they will act in the interests of profit. When Traveller organisations castigate vintners as racist or anti-Traveller, they fail to engage with the essential issue raised by the vintner's actions.
Traveller organisations have failed to win the support of the general public. Privately, many bar owners will tell you that they have no opinion on Travellers, but their customers do. Many customers refuse to drink with Travellers. Customers will pressurise bar owners not to serve Travellers.
The question for Traveller organisations that emerges may be: have they won the battle with the vintners and lost the war with the general public? - Yours, etc.,
COLM WALSH,
Stanhope Street,
Athy,
Co Kildare.