Ailing Greece deserves our support

I was embarrassed by our finance minister’s recent glib and disparaging put-down of our Greek cousins.

May I remind him and his fellow Eurocrats that our debt to Greece grossly outweighs the euros recklessly given by our overpaid European bankers in their greedy, “fast-buck” adventurism.

May I remind him that, without Greece, Europe and the Western world as we know it would not exist. Greece gave us democracy, philosophy, empowering ideas of love, romance and heroism, the Gods of Olympus, our insights into human psychology, medicine, religion — not only feta for the body, but feta for the mind and soul.

When I hit my own life crisis it was the Greek Islands, the Greek people, their music and the serenity of their churches that restored my zest for life.

I invite anyone with a few spare euros to spend them with the farmers, fishermen and tavernas in Greece this summer, and discover the magic of this great nation.

I call on our esteemed President to pen a few lines of encouragement to our Greek cousins in this, their hour of isolation and reflection, and to say ‘go raibh mile, mile maith’ for all their nation has contributed to the development of a civilised, cultured humanity.

Dr Sean Dunphy

Cork Road Medical Clinic

Carrigaline

Co Cork