As I put pen to paper there is a sadness in our home, as my own son was forced to seek employment in what the Irish now call the New World (Australia), along with a group of other people.

In view of their heroics at the weekend, it would be fair to say that never has an Irish team given so much enjoyment to so many, as the Munster rugby team has for well over a decade.

Colette Browne (Opinion, Jan 25) is right when she says that “the government has run out of straws at which to clutch” when it tells those of us that complain “to live in the real world”.

There is no need to compare Enda Kenny to Fianna Fáil as he already embodies Fianna Fáil.

What’s the difference between the Costa Concordia cruise ship and the Government?

Despite the Northern Assembly adding its unanimous voice to calls for the Government to issue both a pardon and an apology to the 5,700 Irish soldiers who deserted their posts during World War II and joined the British Army, the Government must remain resolute and refuse.

I am writing to you about the letter in your paper recently (Jan 17), which said that a 4 1/2 day week would solve unemployment.

The comments made by Minister Pat Rabbitte concerning the broadcasting charge are insulting to the intelligence, to put it mildly.

Ide O’Neill’s remarks (Letters, Jan 21) on the possible demise of guidance and counselling in second-level schools raise some critical issues.

The letter in your paper last week (Jan 17), which makes the case for introducing a 4.5-day week to overcome what seems to be ever increasing unemployment, was like a breath of fresh air, after all the doom and gloom we are always hearing.