Letters to the Editor: 'It's time for Britain to put a national government in place'

The formation of a national government is needed to address the challenges that Brexit poses, as this is the most serious crisis Britain has faced since World War II.

A national government would be better positioned to make the right decisions for Britain. At the end of the day, the majority of people in Britain did not vote to leave the European Union, the majority of people who participated in the referendum voted to leave the European Union, as the turnout was only 72pc. Let a national government make what it judges to be the right decisions for Britain.

The time has come for all parties to put country before individual party interests.

In Britain, it’s the parliament that is sovereign, not the people and that has been the status quo since 1264 when the first                   parliament was called. Britain is simply not properly qualified to hold referendums, as it does not have a proper written and codified Constitution.

Kieran O’Regan

Santry, Co Dublin

State should act now to save Joycean landmark Sweny’s

I am writing to place upon the public record a call for the Irish Culture Minister, acting alone or in concert with the Dublin City Council, to secure the future of Sweny’s Chemist Shop at No 1 Lincoln Place in Dublin’s city centre.

Sweny’s is a mecca for all those – Irish and from around the world – who appreciate, celebrate and are enriched by the remarkable works of Dubliner James Joyce.

But the literary landmark is in imminent and ultimate peril.

Since 2009, Sweny’s has been maintained by the heroic efforts of a group of dedicated volunteers, who can be credited not only with saving this Joyce polestar but also with placing it on the world’s literary map.

Despite the volunteers’ efforts, Sweny’s existence is now threatened by the sale of No 1 Lincoln Place, the building that houses it.

If Sweny’s were an original manuscript, the National Library would surely move to secure its preservation and curatorship in perpetuity.

Like an original manuscript, Sweny’s is part of the Irish nation’s cultural endowment; as such, its preservation falls naturally under the auspices of the Dublin City Council or the Department of Culture, which also insures the continued existence of the James Joyce Centre.

James P Keeley PhD

New York, USA

What next from soothsayers of the blindingly obvious?

So doctors and health experts have now decreed that getting back to nature amongst the flowers, trees and tweety birds for 20 to 30 minutes a day significantly lowers one’s stress levels enough to promote feelings of well being.

Well, duh!

Why the devil did they think the urban Victorians were obsessed with building parks all over the place to the extent that a quarter – yes, a quarter! – of London is made up of parks or mini-parks?

Why did they think the urban guerilla gardening movement sprang up where fed-up locals began planting on any spare bits of ground within their locality to make them less of a grey concrete eyesore, having given up on budget-slashing local councils getting their green fingers out?

It was always about more than merely oxygenating plants to offset pollution.

Coming up next from our overpaid soothsayers of the blindingly obvious, food in moderation with exercise is good for you, bathing daily and brushing your teeth are about more than just hygiene, and Pope Francis is Catholic.

Mark Boyle

Renfrewshire, Scotland

Difference between praying and describing a prayer

Fianna Fáil education spokesperson Thomas Byrne has every right to talk up the commemoration events at Educate Together schools (‘Schools ‘scaremongering’ parents with ‘exaggerated’ threat to Christmas events’, Irish Independent, April 3).

He has no right to accuse Catholic staff of scaremongering when they explain the essential differences between multi-denominational and Catholic education.

Having served as school principal in both multi-denominational and Catholic schools, it’s clear to me that Mr Byrne fails to understand the living reality of Catholic education and the difference between observing from a distance what others are doing and taking an active part in the doing.

There is a massive difference between describing prayer and the actual act of praying. There is a big difference between observing a Fianna Fáil politician at work and being such a politician.

Alan Whelan

Killarney, Co Kerry