I fear the column by Una Mullally (News, 31 October) represents a new low in journalism. She opened her column by declaring it would be a "refuge of sympathy" for politicians. If one stretches the definition of sympathy so as to include continual references to Republican candidate Christine O'Donnell as a "drunken ladybird" then perhaps we detect a grain of truth in her declaration.

Having described in gleeful detail a supposed drunken one-night stand involving Christine O'Donnell, Ms Mullally then declares, piously, but with breathtaking hypocrisy, that there is "no justification for this level of invasion". Does Ms Mullally take her readers for fools?

But there is an even greater reason Ms Mullally's column should not have been published. The story itself is completely unsubstantiated, based on an anonymous source and designed to do maximum damage to O'Donnell. Any journalist worthy of the name would have smelt a rat.

James McGrath

Hollyford

Co Tipperary