JOSIE DWYER

Sir, - We note with dismay that most of the Irish Times headlines referring
to the Josie Dwyer murder trial in recent months use the term "drug addict
Josie Dwyer".

While recognising that drug addiction was a very significant part of both
his life and his death, we believe it unnecessary and unfair to refer
persistently to him as "drug addict Josie Dwyer" in your headlines. Josie
Dwyer was not just a HIV-positive drug addict; he was also a brother,
father, son and friend. Why not "father-of-three Josie Dwyer"?

Kieran Harkin, Catherine Quinn
Grattan Crescent, Inchicore, Dublin 8.