I recently read with dismay reports in the Irish Examiner of plans to establish a centre in Kinsale to commemorate “The Wild Geese”, which is intended to honour present-day veterans of the British, American and other armed forces.

Regarding Barry Walsh’s reply to my letter on Irish in the EU, may I point out that the EU has 24 official languages, including not only world languages such as English, French and German, but also smaller national languages such as Irish, Latvian and Maltese.

YOUR anti-Irish language editorial (January 21) needs to be addressed. The EU is founded on the cornerstone of diversity, in particular linguistic diversity. The number of EU official languages has grown from four in 1958 to 23 today. This involves not only the right to speak one’s official language in parliament, but also to access European laws and services in one’s official language of choice.

I COMMEND the Department of Justice’s initiative to recruit gardaí from ethnic minority communities so the force may be representative of all the people of Ireland.

THE case for services through Irish, firstly, is that, as human beings, Irish speakers are entitled to quality public services in our own language.