I would like to support the report of the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council (June 14) who found Ireland in breach of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights "by colluding in the arbitrary incarceration of women and girls in mother and baby homes" and also "by denying Irish people trafficked to the US a right to their nationality".

I read the letter of Jerry Buttimer TD (June 14) with amusement and interest.

British writer Jeanette Winterson has surrendered what could have been a strong point about the horrors of animal farming with her latest "a rabbit ate my veggies" strop.

The untimely death of Gerry Conlon, who was wrongly convicted for the Guildford pub bombings, reminds us how important it is that we allow politicians to make representations on behalf of prisoners, be they guilty or not.

The response of JDP McAllion to Alison O’Connor’s opinion piece (Letters, June 19) equates the lives of young women and living babies with the life of a undeveloped and unconscious foetus.

Little was written about the Irish Famine until recently, perhaps because of its impact on the Irish psyche

The conundrum as to who should attend our commemoration of 1916 is persisting. There has been an overreaction to, and misinterpretation of, Queen Elizabeth’s comments.

I have made a number of attempts to discover the academic qualifications that are required to become a civil servant. Even a request by me to one local TD Seán Sherlock failed to earn an acknowledgement.

West Cork basked in the sunshine on the beaches last week and resembled any summer Sunday. The water was warm and summer had arrived. So too had droves of school holidayers, just out after months of incarceration in drab buildings and ill fitting uniforms.

I have recently learned that a petition containing the signature of almost 2 million people from 20 EU member states was submitted to the European Commission under the ECI (European Citizens Initiative) which followed from the Lisbon Treaty.