Sir, I genuinely welcome Michael Commins’s remarks concerning my designation of Albert Reynolds. His right to dissent is paramount. I could assuage him by, pointing out the tongue­incheek nature of the remarks and the ironic spin on them. It scarcely matters either way. You like the joke or you don’t. Comedy can be notoriously subjective. Longford people contemplating a fatwah might ring RTÉ for advice.