They were playing girls from a reputable, expensive private convent girls' school in south County Dublin. "The cream of the country" as they are popularly described.

When my friend's school team came out onto the court, one of their rival team was heard to say . . . loudly . . . "you can smell the poverty off them, " and when the girls from the state school began to do their cheer-leading routine their rivals . . . who were already beating them in the game . . . turned their backs to them and drowned out their rehearsed performance by shouting: "who let the dogs out."

What my friend found most shocking was not the girls' behaviour . . . (we all know how nasty girls can be) . . . but the fact that their teachers did not reprimand them or stop the cruel chanting. The Mayo girls were genuinely upset. This was a big day out for them, and after an exhausting journey it was horrible for them to be faced with this kind of . . . what I would call . . . class abuse. We are urban, we are rich . . . ergo, we are better than you.

As is often the case, the reality is very different to the perception. This Mayo state school has a very high standard of education . . . it just does not discriminate in who receives it. However, that is not the point. The point is that these girls felt entitled to trash them because they have been told that they are 'better'. If not by their parents then by our bigger-is-better 'new Ireland' society.

It is not the breakdown of the Catholic church which is gradually turning us into a nation of rude, ignorant hogs. It is the handbagworshipping, porsche-driving aspirant mind-set that is encouraging us to look down on people because they have less money than us. What hope have we got for the future if we are really turning from the land of saints and scholars into a noveau rich haven?

An English friend of mine, visiting me for the weekend in Dublin, was extremely amused by what she found in Brown Thomas. "All these women ostentatiously shouting over each other about how much they were spending on a handbag . . . it was hilarious." I was enraged at her amusement and defended our 'new money' ethos . . .

poverty for centuries, 800 years of oppression, etc.

But the reality is, showing off how much money you have is not clever; it always looks tacky and cheap. Sending your children to an expensive school and then encouraging them to think that they are better than other children with less money or education does not make you posh . . . it makes you ignorant. Good taste cannot be bought and respect is not something you can throw money at. You have to earn it the old fashioned way . . . with good manners and decency.

My friend's team lost, but their supporters cheered them on from beginning to end . . . nobody left the field. They also got the prize for best halftime entertainment, despite the cruel taunting. In that sense they were the true winners of the day.