Dreary as you like

Sir — Kudos to righton Declan Lynch (Sunday Independent, August 6) for highlighting the bland cultural wasteland that was Ireland in the dreary, monocultural 1970s and 1980s.

Before we were exposed to the ‘right influences’ that improved us greatly, we had to make do with rubbish like Thin Lizzy, Rory Gallagher, Van Morrison, The Horslips, Stiff Little Fingers, The Undertones, The Boomtown Rats, U2, The Pogues, Sinead O’Connor, Christy Moore, Clannad, Blue in Heaven, A House, The Blades etc.

Fortunately, progressive, modern Ireland has bequeathed the world some proper culture with performers like The Script and Nathan Carter and a few others I can’t quite think of. Simon O’Neill,

Dublin 3