Sir, – As a regular visit to the midlands, I can say that skinny lattés are not the order of the day everywhere (July 14th). A few years ago passing through a small village in Offaly we stopped for a coffee. We tried the local pub and enquired if they served coffee. "We do indeed," said the landlady. "Would ye like Nescafé or Maxwell House." There was no instant answer to that. – Yours, etc,
MOIRA CARDIFF,
Balbriggan,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Bedad, things can't be all that bad in Kinnegad when the local community can produce a book like 65 Kinnegad Lives (purchased in Just Books, Mullingar) which chronicles the lives of 59 children born in the year of the Rising 1916. A number of phrases might sum them up: "the plain people of Ireland", "auld dacency", "Midlanders to the core". – Yours, etc,
PAUL MURPHY,
Navan, Co Meath.
Sir, – Recent correspondence on the midlands (July 14th) has prompted me to reflect on how Dublin-centric Irish society is. There is a world beyond the M50. – Yours, etc,
MARY T RYAN,
Boyle,
Co Roscommon.