Niall Quinn

SO Niall Quinn has decided to give his testimonial money to charity. Bravo!

This not only lifts my spirit, but enhances the prestige of the great game.

I was beginning to think it was a soulless, but very lucrative, business.

In those far off days when sportsmanship and good manners were part of the football scene, there was sense in the benefit match system.

It provided an invaluable nest egg to enable professionals, like Hughie Gallacher, to boost their £12-a-week pay packet. They then went on to finish their lives working down the pit, or in the shipyards, or factories.

Today, when footballers are better paid, the testimonial match is anachronistic.

Niall Quinn's gesture will provide our children with something of which they, for far too long, have been deprived - a really worthy footballing role model. - James Fitzpatrick, Gateshead.

THE news that Sunderland and Republic of Ireland striker Niall Quinn is to give the entire proceeds of his benefit match to helping children in Dublin and Wearside can only be described as a magnificent selfless gesture.

With the recent bad publicity that professional footballers have received, both on and off the pitch, this fine gesture is a reminder that certain generalisations about today's players are way off the mark.

I believe that many footballers do lots of positive work for the community, but Quinn's idea is ground-breaking.

I have spoken to numerous Sunderland supporters who have met the likeable Irishman and, without exception, they have all commented on how genuine he is.

Let's hope football fans throughout the region will take this opportunity to support the historic match between Sunderland and the Republic of Ireland.

Perhaps Prime Minister Tony Blair and one of the local universities should honour this incredible man. He certainly deserves it. - Tony Ratton, Sunderland.

SINN FEIN

WELL said Jim Ross (HAS, Jan 28). Sinn Fein has repeatedly demonstrated its hatred of Britain, our Parliament, our culture and our people.

Countless acts of mass murder and terrorism have established their credentials beyond doubt.

If was, therefore, only a matter of time before they were rewarded for their efforts by the patron saint of treachery, Tony Blair.

No doubt the next major objective is to ensure the repatriation of the Britons being held as al Qaida suspects in Cuba by the US military.

Who could have failed to notice the obscene haste demonstrated by the British Government to claim these Britons who had, after all, done nothing more than fight against British and Allied troops? - Dave Pascoe, Hartlepool.

COUNCIL FINANCES

OBVIOUSLY Darlington Council will continue to increase the rate as long as we allow them to do so. Every election the councillors ask for our vote, never mentioning the wastage of money on their part; eg tarted-up roundabouts, Civic Theatre (windows), Dolphin Centre (almost rebuilt), care homes closed, shops standing empty, redundancies in all areas (parks, toilets, town hall, etc). Roads and pavements are a disgrace, and, on the whole, this is a dirty, dilapidated town.

This council has evidently become too complacent. Where does our money go? Certainly not where you can see or benefit from it. - P Morgan, Darlington.

CEMENT WORKS

IT is with deep regret and sadness to hear of the closure of the Eastgate cement works. As my surname is Emerson and my parents and ancestors were all Weardale people, I have a great affinity for Weardale.

I believe that we should be positive and accept this economic decision and go forward with positive thoughts and ideas. The sleeping asset that we have is the redundant railway link to Eastgate. It should be developed to attract tourism and use Eastgate as the railhead, where the second national rail museum should be developed and harnessed to traditional industries, such as the lead mining and the limestone quarries, as tourist trails to explore further up the dale.

This could be achieved by local government agencies and financed by government and the private sector, or by a Lottery grant. This would provide the basic economic infrastructure and employment for the Weardale people.

In effect, no more talking. Action is needed forthwith. Develop all other ideas around the emergence of the rail link for transportation and tourism in Weardale. - John Emerson, Barnard Castle.

HARRY MEAD

THANK goodness for columnists like Harry Mead, who consigns the right-wing propaganda to the dustbin where it belongs.

For John Young (Echo, Jan 23) to say I arrogantly hope to influence the outcome of the Middle East problems with my modest contributions to HAS is ridiculous, and renders his own efforts barely credible.

The deluge of critics recently in the Echo proves that I have roused the ire of fox hunters, warmongers, Empire loyalists, anti-EEC and the euro and a variety of 'my country right or wrong' individuals. Isn't that what democracy is all about? - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

WAR ON TERRORISM

HARRY Mead is being simplistic for the sake of effect (Echo, Jan 23).

He preaches the gospel of civil rights and his version of human behaviour, yet ignores his own smug security at the hand of a nation that has protected his freedom since 1945.

He wishes to castigate the Americans for what he sees as their treatment of violent and moronic individuals who, in my opinion, should have been left in Afghanistan.

The point is, these prisoners are not prisoners of war, who, having been defeated, would wish to go back to their homes and families. They are people who, given the chance, will kill and destroy to satisfy their own Satanic lust. If they were not shackled, they would attempt to kill their captors, which must suggest their captors have every reason to be on their guard and take every precaution to protect themselves.

The fact that they are still alive and being treated at all is not the kind of treatment Harry Mead and his ilk would enjoy.

As for the suggestion that we are more civilised in our attitude towards crime and punishment, it beggars belief when we are living in a society which finds justice for vicious thugs and murderers more important than the lives of the innocent citizen. It is time for Mr Mead to stop his silly chatter and to hope his nice little Yorkshire village is not on the list of those that think British justice is a joke and easy ride. - John Young, Crook.

JIM Tague's hostility to the Taliban (HAS, Jan 28) seems very mild indeed, compared to his hatred of elected Labour Members of Parliament in his own country. The Taliban is absolutely certain it is right and has no respect for any other point of view or person expressing it. Jim Tague seems to be expressing a similar intolerance of others' views.

He should remember that under all-party coalition governments, two world wars have been fought and won. It is an insult to the war dead and their families to suggest that any one party has a monopoly of, or lack of, patriotism. It is no accident that leaders of all the parliamentary parties play a role in Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph.

During the Gulf War, the Tory government very rightly complained, through the International Red Cross, that our airmen were being mistreated in breach of the Geneva Convention through being tortured, publicly humiliated and interrogated.

If any country, however powerful, decides to disregard or "re-interpret" the Geneva Convention, civilised and decent standards in international relationships will be severely damaged.

It is always worth the effort to show just how different we are from barbaric dictatorships, be they the Taliban now, or Hitler in the past. - Stuart Hill, Darlington.