Sir, – Charlie Kirk was a deeply religious, extremely conservative man who believed in his convictions and would debate them with anyone, regardless of theirs. We know how this ended for him.

This is a truly shocking moment in time. That someone can be assassinated for opposing views, for talking. Civil discourse has to come back to politics and to life in general.

The extremes in dialogue where disagreement make opponents “literally Hitler” have to stop.

We see the course America is taking and while we’re far from that tipping point it’s a warning.

We need less name calling, less intolerance and a genuine willingness to look at things from a different perspective. – Yours, etc,

DARA O’DONNELL,

Portobello,

Dublin 8.

Vulnerable moments

Sir, – Suzanne Crowe’s reflection on a life in medicine and the power of empathy (“Dr Suzanne Crowe on losing her baby daughter: We held Beatrice together until her heartbeat faded away,” September 7th) is a beautiful reminder to all of us working in healthcare of the individual impact we make on people’s lives at a time of great distress.

It is a privilege to be allowed into such vulnerable moments, and one which we must treat with great respect. She reminds us that an emotional response to our patients can help us to advocate better for the people we look after, and still go hand in hand with decisive and objective care.

It’s our responsibility to make sure the next generation of doctors learn and practice this. I look forward to reading her book. – Yours, etc,

LYNDA CORRIGAN,

Consultant Medical Oncologist,

Tallaght University Hospital,

Dublin 24.

RTÉ and Eurovision

Sir, – I welcome RTÉ’s announcement that they will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna next year if Israel participates.

The bigger problem for the European Broadcasting Union is that one of the Eurovision’s key corporate sponsor is Morrocan Oil, an Israeli company.

I cannot see the sponsor agreeing to Israel’s non-participation in the song contest. – Yours, etc,

SEÁN Ó BRIAIN,

Drogheda,

Co Louth.

Sir, – Leaving aside the very legitimate reason that RTÉ may not participate in next year’s Eurovision, it will at least save the Irish taxpayer the expense of taking part and the torture of another cringing song entry with the inevitable hype by RTÉ presenters. – Yours, etc,

MIKE MORAN,

Clontarf,

Dublin 3.

Sir, – The whole world is appalled by what Israel is doing in Gaza – but how do we get a message through to Israel?

Well, we refuse to take part in the Eurovision song contest if Israel is taking part; is that the best we can do? – Yours, etc,

CHRIS COGGINS,

Enniscorthy,

Co Wexford.

Sir, – Worldwide there are more than 150 ongoing armed conflicts. Presumably, given its duty to be impartial, RTÉ will now also intervene to support boycotts to end these other conflicts as well? – Yours, etc,

BRIAN WARD,

Dublin 5.

Behaviour on public transport

Sir, – Thank you to Emer McLysaght for highlighting the issue of inconsiderate passengers on public transport (“Public-transport rage has taken me: open mouth coughers, backpack users, phones on speaker,” September 4th).

Irish Rail has posters in carriages asking people to refrain from, inter alia, placing bags on seats and using mobile phones on speaker.

But who if anyone takes note of a poster? This week, my train was the subject of a random inspection of tickets.

As the rail staff moved through my carriage, a couple were talking loudly via video call to a small child and could be heard throughout the whole carriage.

This video call is a regular occurrence. Meanwhile, the rail staff completed their checks and moved to a different carriage.

However, I thought it was a lost opportunity for the staff to gently remind the couple about using earbuds for conversations. Instead, nothing was said and the passengers continued their call. Rail staff (security or otherwise) should be visible on all trains to alert people to rules concerning behaviour.

We wouldn’t expect an aircraft to fly with only a pilot but no cabin crew. Yet we expect rail passengers, once on board the train to, by and large, fend for themselves.

Emer McLysaght shouldn’t have to channel a character from “Falling Down”. Nor should we judge ourselves or others harshly for perceived cowardice in not confronting disrespectful passengers.

Ultimately, only Irish Rail’s actions will speak louder than words on a poster. – Yours, etc ,

MARY FOGARTY,

Balbriggan,

Co Dublin.

In praise of Emer

Sir, – Don’t ever, ever underplay the uber impressive Emer McLysaght. She, along with Sarah Breen, gave us the great Aisling series, which was more than just giving us a laugh about a country girl done good. But McLysaght’s columns in The Irish Times are so often a revelation: the account of cleaning her late dad’s fish tank, her reflections on the demise of Weight Watchers, her unashamed bliss at Oasis and Taylor Swift concerts.

Her honesty in relation to the challenges that life brings to her, as to all of us, is what I most admire and totally appreciate.

When they made Emer, they broke the mould.

And, surely there’s a book in it? A collection of her Irish Times columns. – Yours, etc,

NUALA GALLAGHER,

Dublin 15.

Funding for children

Sir, – In her Opinion piece, Denise Charlton makes an impassioned plea for extra funding for children in the forthcoming Budget on the basis that supports available in the formative first four years of a child’s life are crucial (“Handing our children a poorer society would be a shameful legacy for a rich country,” September 8th).

I contend that support in teenage years is also crucial, particularly in deprived areas, as it may dictate future prison population numbers where youth drift into crime and cannot escape.

It seems odd that at a time of massive budget surpluses, youth services funding is a paltry ¤79 million.

Should this not be a priority for Government and the Minister for Children to rectify? – Yours, etc,

MICHAEL FLYNN,

Bayside,

Dublin 13.

Doing porridge

Sir, – Regarding Fred Hanlon who says he likes his porridge with a bit of milk (Letters, September 11th): I like mine cooked with water with added salt and eaten with plenty of milk. – Yours, etc,

MARY DALY,

Dublin 14.

Sir, – Presaging today’s trendy overnight oats, one of my family chores as a boy in the 1960s was to put the porridge in steep the night before.

The only difference being, instead of a dressing of blueberries – which had yet to be invented in Ireland – we had cod liver oil tablets.

Scrumptious! – Yours, etc,

HUGH McDONNELL,

Glasnevin, Dublin 9.

Sir, – I mostly tend to take my porridge with a spoon. – Yours, etc,

TOM GILSENAN,

Dublin 9.

Sir, – Shortly after I read Ned Hanlon’s letter about pretentious porridge (Letters, September 11th), my wife brought home some chicken Kievs from the supermarket.

These are filled with wild garlic butter, if you please. The chicken was probably intensively reared, but hey-ho.

The label suggested they be served with a Chenin blanc, far from which I was raised.

A glass of Paddy may not be out of the question, however. – Yours, etc,

PAUL GRIFFIN,

Merseyside,

Liverpool.

What would we do?

Sir, – Having noted the multinational (Nato) assistance which Poland received in repelling the recent Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace, Chris Fitzpatrick asks (Letters, September 11th), “what would we do if we were ever attacked?”.

The answer lies in Conor Gallagher’s interview of August 30th with Lieutenant General Rossa Mulcahy, chief of staff of the Defence Forces, when the general referred to Ireland looking for “support from partners under the EU or under the UN banner”, if attacked.

The corollary of our expectation of military support from our EU partners is our willingness to provide military assistance to them in the event of attack. This is a discussion we have not had.

Perhaps we should. – Yours etc.

BRENDAN CONWAY,

New Quay.

Co Clare.

Irish Open at Doonbeg

Sir, – Taoiseach Micheál Martin has stated that if US president Donald Trump visits for the Irish Open, “there’s no question that he will be welcome to Ireland” (“Get ready for Establishment Ireland to swoon over Trump when the Irish Open comes to Doonbeg,” September 12th).

Can we have a vote on that? – Yours, etc,

GERALDINE O’DALY,

Co Galway.

Sir, – I for one (as correspondents are often wont to write), have no intention of attending next year’s Irish Open Golf at Doonbeg.

Mind you, the likelihood of my ever being seen anywhere near a golf course verges on the slim to zero. – Yours, etc,

WALTER HESELTINE,

Glin,

Co Limerick.

Acts of theatre

Sir, – The recent theatre texters correspondence calls to mind a night when the front row at our show was taken by a coachload of senior citizens.

Shortly after the second act began, a phone rang and was answered by a gentleman in the middle of the row who loudly told the caller that he was at a play in Roscommon.

Then, in response to an obvious follow-up question, he said, in what sounded like a slightly surprised tone, “D’ya know, it’s not too bad at all”.

The real critics pay for their ticket. – Yours, etc.

JOHN McDWYER ,

Artistic Director (Retd)

Beezneez Theatre Company

Carrick-on-Shannon.

Sir, –Ronan McDermott (Letters September 11th) argues that patrons may nap during a boring play as long as they don’t snore.

In my experience, the only way to guarantee that a slumbering middle aged male doesn’t snore is to have their partner stationed alongside them, strategically positioned to deliver an appropriately timed elbow in the ribs. – Yours, etc,

MICHAEL McDERMOTT,

Rathgar,

Dublin 6.

Central Bank and Israeli bonds

Sir, –Regarding Arthur Beesley’s article “Central Bank of Ireland accused of ‘cop-out’ over Israeli ‘war bond’ switch” (September 12th), I wholeheartedly agree.

It is an appalling cop-out.

Rather than heed the ruling and obligations set out by the International Court of Justice, to in no way aid or fund this genocide, the Central Bank of Ireland, instead of refusing the transfer request, has simply passed the buck.

Remember, Israel advertises these bonds as supporting their “war” in Gaza. Surely this is complicity?

Now the good people of Luxembourg have a job on their hands, to campaign and protest, just as was done here, tirelessly, for the last nine months.

How is it so difficult to do the right thing? – Yours, etc,

ÁINE HAYDEN,

Inchicore,

Dublin 8.

Causing mayhem

Sir, – Finn Mc Redmond concludes her article on Banksy by asserting that “uncomplicated and non-controversial truth is no bad thing” (“We should not dismiss blatantly political works from artists like Banksy,” September 11th).

Surely not? Most of the mayhem occurring across the world is being wrought by those convinced that they alone are in possession of that very thing. – Yours, etc,

KARL DOHERTY,

Coleraine,

Co Derry.

Changing the locks

Sir, – Passing my old alma mater Garbally College and finding it casually retitled with the anodyne “Clonfert College” – (“An Irishman’s Diary,” September 12th) – is akin to arriving home to find your partner has changed the locks and thrown your best clothes and irreplaceable memorabilia on to the lawn with nary a backward glance. – Yours, etc,

TOMÁS FINN,

Ballinasloe,

Co Galway.