From Michael Galvin

RECENTLY we witnessed the excellent tribute paid to the late Charlie Haughey. Full military honours, including several shots being fired over his grave by members of the Irish Army, yet it has been now established Irish soldiers killed in action at home or in some foreign land, or soldiers or retired soldiers who die an ordinary death at home, are deprived of this tribute, and this includes FCA members.

This practice or tribute is paid to soldiers and ex-soldiers in every country in the world and was put into action in this country in 1916, and was held in deep respect by members of the defence forces and relations of the deceased members.

However, for some unknown reason, this honour was taken from members of the army without the consent of their comrades or relations. In fact, they were never notified of this deceitful act by anybody and our army reps also remained very silent regarding same.

It is repulsive to think that whatever record members of the government or exmembers have, this honour is paid to them, whilst our army personnel who are prepared to give their lives on foreign shores for the freedom of whichever country they are serving in at the time of death, are denied this tribute.

Come off it Minister for Defence, and all other members of Dail Eireann, plus the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces . . . those men all died with credibility and honour and you have taken it from them. Yes, since the foundation of the defence forces, every serving soldier and ex-soldier plus FCA members are strictly entitled to the honour of a firing party.

Please give back what rightly belongs to us. 'A little honour at death' goes a long way .

Michael Galvin, RSM Retired, Tipperary.

Islam is a religion based on justice for all From Abdullah Sayegh

MR SATARDIEN is turning into a media star with his scaremongering rather than working within the Muslim community whom he claims to care for. He claims a mighty title but I wish you had introduced him to the Muslim and Irish people through what he is doing and checked his credentials! Philip Watt rightly states that Satardien's views are harmful and are not shared by the vast majority of Muslims in Ireland. The questions raised are out of context of the debate. If he has tangible information, then he will have the full support of the community for the appropriate action, if he has any role to play.

Mr Monaghan's letter (20 August) is an example of worries created in the mind of people who play a role in guiding people towards harmony rather than towards conflict.

Reading a holy text such as the Koran will lead to differences of understanding arising from the different backgrounds of the readers. This is true of Watt's understanding for most of the points he raised, and he took the meaning of the words out of context. Why should I be deprived of the privilege of Irish citizenship if I believe in justice? Jihad should begin in self-education and never as aggression or war. It should involve self-control and true values. I leave the theological side to the theologians and unfortunately in any religion there are always extreme points of view . . . human history is full of examples. I assure Watt that Islam is a religion based on justice for all and hope he will work with Muslims to have justice in the world especially in Palestine and the Holy land.

Abdullah Sayegh, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford.

Players deserve more loyalty from GAA From Harry Barrett

LISTENING to the harsh criticisms of the Mayo and Laois teams last Sunday by RTE's pundits, I was struck by the incongruity of it all.

Here we had professional commentators denigrating the efforts of amateur sportsmen who were giving freely of their considerable talent, time and effort to entertain us.

Indeed, the sad reality is that the players are the only party not being rewarded for its endeavour, yet the well-compensated commentators in the RTE studios felt free to call them "incompetent" and "lacking conviction" because of a number of early missed chances.

Nevertheless, this reality is with us and it has its roots in a need for TV ratings to boost advertising and the profits of a highly profitable bank.

To achieve this increase in ratings for the paying customer, ie, the bank in question, pundits must be tough, controversial, hard-hitting and must be seen to pinpoint all the flaws in the game as it unfolds.

This format is all very Sky-like and very American. It comes from the realm of other sporting arenas where players are paid multiples in one week of what a GAA player would make, at work, in a year.

So, to those in the paid punditry end of the GAA, take a reality check and give the players the proper recognition they deserve. Your loyalties should be with the exertions of those young men and women who "burst a gut" for years on end for no monetary reward to make it on to a county team . . . and not to the pressures of satisfying the insatiable demands of your sponsor.

Harry Barrett, The Brambles, Castlebar, Co Mayo.

Did Delevan swallow all Aer Lingus claims?

From Dermot Walsh

REACTION around Shannon Airport to the top of the page "Aer Lingus to brave flotation with workers onside" (Business Tribune, 20 August) centred on whether writer Richard Delevan swallowed the rod as well as the "hook, line and sinker" cast out by Aer Lingus.

There is some wry amusement that Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion is now playing up the US Immigration Pre-Inspection facility which Aer Lingus fought tooth and nail in the 1980s when Shannon negotiated another European first and then demanded a replica for Dublin when direct US flights were permitted from 1993.

What appears to have escaped them or slipped out of the interview is the fact that, under the discussions now taking place between the Irish and US governments (as disclosed by the departing US ambassador), pre-clearance is to be extended to single official pre-inspection for Immigration, Customs and Agriculture formalities. Far from being the advantage to Aer Lingus claimed by Mannion, that change will allow US carriers to serve more and less expensive airports in the USA which do not have immigration and related checking facilities. In the meantime, Aer Lingus will be left waiting for the delaydogged 'Open Skies' between the US and EU to gain entry to the additional gateways it covets in the USA, while the terms of the bilateral air agreement conceded by minister Martin Cullen last year provide US airlines freedom to fly here from any gateway against less than a handful open to Aer Lingus.

Utterly missed too was the July 2004 Dublin Airport Capacity Study from Alan Stratford & Associates for the Aviation Regulation Commissioner. A key finding of that report pointed out that the US Immigration pre-inspection at Dublin would serve to increase congestion with US-bound passengers checking in earlier for pre-clearance. The recommendation then was for Dublin to suspend the pre-inspection during peak traffic season.

That would leave Mannion and our airline bereft of the formalities-free advantage at Dublin which would be available yearround at Shannon.

Dermot Walsh, Elm Park, Ennis Road, Limerick.