Very sad to see the tone of your coverage of the Israeli assault on Gaza in [August 5’s] paper.

Some people who have experienced the trauma of a loved one’s suicide may gain solace from the new short-form death certificate that the Tanaiste Joan Burton intends to introduce. I am sure this is being done with good intention, but I will not gain any comfort from it.

In Opposition, Pat Rabbitte, facing Ireland’s most reckless, incompetent, and corrupt government, performed with vigour and style. He was articulate, robust, and incisive, making them shift uneasily in their Dáil seats.

For years, I had convinced myself that I was unable to understand Irish. Then, I discovered Raidió Na Gaeltachta, or, rather, I heard Áine Hensey presenting a late-night radio programme, called An Ghealach Ghorm, and my ears were opened.

Former Taoiseach, John Bruton, suggests that this September we should celebrate the anniversary of the granting of Home Rule to Ireland.

During the recent European elections, Fine Gael candidates wouldn’t answer the following question: what will happen to the €300,000,000 the Central Bank gets when it sells the first of the promissory note sovereign bonds later this year. Will that money be destroyed?

We should forget World War I and seek peace.

The revisionist contribution of John Bruton (August 5) is concerning, and shows that a cohort of individuals still believe that 1916 was unnecessary, while suggesting Home Rule was inevitable. Therein lies the deceit.

The Irish Republic distinguished itself for 40 years with an all-party consensus that paramilitary violence, north and south of the Ulster border, was anathema.

In last Thursday’s Seanad debate, Senator David Norris said that “the interior minister, Eli Yishai, stated in 2012 that Israel would send Gaza back to the Middle Ages.