ALAS, it seems nothing has been learned from our tragedy. The first people to be targeted by the IMF (ensconced in a five star hotel) and our own overpaid "economic illiterates" are not those who caused our downfall, but the lowest paid and those who lost their jobs because of the greed of the richest.

Almost 100 years ago, this little country stood up against the might of the British Empire to secure independence and self-determination. Now their noble self-sacrifice has been squandered by the greed of a cartel of bankers, developers and their political allies.

My two grandfathers, Sam Ellis and Peter Doyle, both laid their lives on the line in 1916.  They would be disgusted to see how their selfless, courageous action has degenerated into the selfish Mé-Féinism which has bankrupted our economy and which is still asking the most vulnerable to, yet again, pay the price for their greed.
 
Dessie Ellis
Dublin, Ireland