Going to the pub on Good Friday is a sin

Sir — The Government has told us that pubs will be allowed to open on Good Friday 2018, the first time since 1927.

Sadly our leaders did not consult us on this matter by way of referendum, which makes me wonder why the politicians gave into the publicans’ lobby at Dail Eireann.

Then again we must not forget that many TDs are owners of pubs. Could it be that, as the Church is on its knees because of recent sex scandals, some people are taking advantage of the situation to put the boot in on all things religious and take all the things apart bit by bit till everything to do with God will disappear and Irish society becomes totally atheist?

Before the drink ban is done away with on Good Friday, Taoiseach Enda Kenny should have taken this matter to the people by way of a referendum and let us voters decide.

If you go to most Islamic countries or to the southern states of America, there are no pubs and we in Ireland close the bars only twice a year — Christmas Day and Good Friday — and some are not happy with that. Shame on them!

Anyone who opens their pub in Ireland on Good Friday or who goes into them is dishonouring the Lord, who died for them on the cross on Good Friday, and is not fit to say they are Christians and should not be allowed to receive communion. They should even be excommunicated from the Church for acting like pagans and unbelievers on one of the holiest of days in the Church calendar.

I suppose that Christmas Day is next on the hit list? Martin Ford,

Sligo

Little to cheer us in this sordid tale

Sir — The Inconvenient by Joseph O’Connor (Poem, Sunday Independent, April 16) — who was she, what was her crime? And then at the end of the first verse, the Church comes into the sordid tale.

This sort of writing does nothing to cheer anyone. And where is all the change with the shedding of religion taking us? It certainly doesn’t seem to be a happy place. Tom Slevin, Waterford

Pilate-like washing of State’s hands

Sir — Every now and then Church-bashing raises its head, this time it’s to do with the new maternity hospital. I have no brief for or against the Church, nor for that matter the State. I believe both to be guilty of sins of the past and the present.

We have all read and heard of the wrongs done to unfortunates who were under the care of Church-run institutions. If we are honest with ourselves, we must ask: “Who put them there? Whose job was it to look after them in the first place?”

The State, since its inception, drop-kicked those it was legally entitled to look after properly. Instead it did a Pontius Pilate job and cast them to the various religious institutions and, from there, abandoned them. How sickening it is to hear present day so-called leaders of our country stand up to give sincere speeches about wrongs done to those that happened on their watch. Fred Molloy, Clonsilla, Dublin 15

Protecting the good of the game

Sir — I write to you regarding the targeting of Diarmuid Connolly and his like in GAA matches. I attended the recent league final Kerry vs Dublin with my grandson. While pointing out the good things about the game, I used Connolly as an example.

Being one of the most talented GAA players in Ireland, he was doing an excellent job of this until the inevitable happened. After taking one too many illegal hits, he did what Diarmuid does — he hit back and was black-carded. My grandson asked why Connolly was going off. I replied he was going off for fighting back.

Please, match officials, protect the great footballers of all counties because they are why we love this game Larry Duffy, Ratoath, Co Meath