LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Memories of theatre in the Odeon Dear Editor, Thank you for this week's fascinating Omnibus column which brought back very special memories of 60 years ago for me. Mr Carney did not give the names of the four Shakespeare plays performed, but I hope I am right in saying that one of them was The Merchant of Venice. My father brought me to the theatre in the Odeon Cinema twice during the Anew McMaster International Company's performance in Tuam in 1952. I saw Lady Windermere's Fan and The Merchant of Venice. I seem to remember very vividly Anew McMaster playing the role of Shylock, but the images of 60 years ago stored in my mind may indeed be confused with other such magic lantern slides! The experience afterwards proved a great asset to me on arrival in Bun Rang in the Convent of Mercy where we studied The Merchant of Venice as an introduction to Shakespeare.[/private] Yours, etc., Mary Zeimbekis Tuam Congratulations to parade organisers Dear Editor, May I take this opportunity to congratulate the new team who were responsible for the organising of St. Patrick's Day parade 2012. This year's event certainly brought a fresh vibrant energy to Tuam with thought-provoking floats, old and new presented in a very proud and dignified fashion. The theme that was chosen this year was happiness and that shone like a ray of light from the stand with Sally Ann Flanagan, our new clean-cut President of the Chamber, Ronan Glynn, and our Mayor Mary Loftus. Not to mention Cllr Imelda Kelly who, like her late father Miko, wound it up with a waltz with Mickey Mouse. It is a great privilege for Tuam that his spirit lives on and is flying at full mast as history presents itself with an old and new tone for Tuam. Sally Anne Flanagan who dealt with the logistics of the parade calmly, has the gift of communication as she wove her way calmly and efficiently through the event. With people of this calibre, Tuam will ride into a new wave of success and prosperity because its core team who are positive, determined and proud of their town like their ancestors before them will mend the broken wheel and turn it to fortune. The words of our great President Michael D. Higgins resonated through this historical town, no doubt the Bobby dream is in train as we move into a new dawn of success for Tuam. Is feidir linn Chairde Thuama. Yours sincerely, Marguerite Bane Corbett Tuam Digital Hub doesn't run Pathways Dear Editor, In The Tuam Herald of March 1, 2012, your columnist Tony Galvin wrote about the new Pathways to Work employment initiative. In his article, he inferred that Pathways to Work was an initiative of The Digital Hub. I would like to clarify that this is not the case. The Digital Hub is an Irish government initiative aimed at creating an international centre of excellence for digital content and technology enterprises. It is located in Dublin's south-west inner city, and is home to over 70 digital enterprises, ranging from start-ups to well-established businesses that are significant employers and leaders in their fields. The Digital Hub Development Agency is the Irish state agency that manages the Digital Hub project. Pathways to Work is a government plan aimed at getting unemployed people back to work. It was launched at the Digital Skills Academy â€â€ one of the 70+ companies based at The Digital Hub â€â€ in recent weeks. The Digital Hub has no direct involvement in Pathways to Work or in delivering any of the measures included in the plan. Further information about The Digital Hub is available at www.thedigitalhub.com. Yours sincerely, Philip Flynn Chief Executive Officer Digital Hub Development Agency Crane Street Dublin 8 Animal Welfare Bill a crushing disappointment Dear Editor, I and other opponents of live hare coursing had hoped the issue would be addressed in the upcoming Animal Health and Welfare Bill. But alas the hare has been let down again by our politicians: not only does the draft bill fail to prohibit hare coursing or even attempt to make it less cruel, it contains a special exemption allowing hare coursing to continue unaffected and unchanged by any of the provisions of the Bill. I am prompted to reflect on more than three decades of campaigning for the protection of this iconic and persecuted mammal. After all this time, I still cannot fathom why some human beings wish to inflict completely unnecessary pain and terror on a creature that is so beautiful and threatens neither man nor beast. The hare is a graceful, timid animal that enhances our natural environment. The countryside would be duller and less inviting without its magical presence, especially in the spring when those famed 'boxing matches' between them occur. I have seen hares running to outwit greyhounds at coursing events and noticed how skilled in the art of evasion they were when seeking to reach the escape hatch. But I have also witnessed, both first hand and on video footage, those heart-rending scenes where the dogs forcibly strike or maul the fleet-footed creatures. I have seen hares literally tossed into the air like paper toys. Muzzled dogs inflict agonising internal injuries such as bone breakages that cannot heal I have watched a UTube video of last month's Irish Cup coursing event. At least eight hares can clearly be seen on this film being either struck, pinned to the ground, or mauled by the dogs. How naive I was to hope that our politicians might avail of the new Bill to accord the hare the same protection it commands in the jurisdictions that have outlawed coursing. These include New South Wales, Australia, which banned the practice in 1953, New Zealand (1954), Victoria, Australia (1964), South Australia (1985), Scotland (2004), England and Wales (2004), and Northern Ireland (2011). Unless the government accepts a radical amendment to the Animal Health and Welfare Bill to address the hare's plight, a piece of legislation that it faithfully promised would update protection of animals in Ireland will instead be enshrining the legality of one of the world's most barbaric and discredited blood sports. Thanking you, John Fitzgerald Campaign for the Abolition of Cruel Sports Lower Coyne Street Callan Co Kilkenny[/private]