¹⁵¹Lynas, Mark. "Weekend Feature: Ireland, One of the World's Worst Polluters." The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 4 Dec. 2004, www.theguardian.com/environment/2004/dec/04/waste.pollution.

In this "Concrete Isle" article, Lynas stated, "This is the land of the bulldozer, where Tarmac, churned-up mud and shopping malls are as likely to greet the visitor as historic castles and windswept bays. This land has been mauled by the Celtic Tiger, chewed up by double-digit economic growth - and what's left is barely recognisable."

In a response, one reader wrote (10 December, 2004), "Someone please tell Mark Lynas ("The Concrete Isle," December 4) that, contrary to appearances, the leprechaun people of Ireland occasionally need roads and houses, too. It takes a lot, I suspect, to make the average Irish person side with Martin Cullen and his roads programme, but if it's between him and the same old, pathetic British condescension as exemplified by your writer, then give me a hard hat and a cement mixer and I'll concrete over Tara myself."