Sir, – I enjoyed Frank McNally’s account of his maiden outing to the famed retail experience of Kildare Village (An Irishman’s Diary, February 22nd). I have a few years on Frank but like him I have been there once (so far) and I was left feeling sufficiently delighted by the experience.
I was struck by his references to the garment which prompted his pilgrimage – it is variously an overcoat or a full-length overcoat.
The item in question was never described by my late father other than as a top coat and was worn over the suit and tie to all State occasions – Mass, funerals, hurling matches in Kilkenny or Croke Park and visits to the bookies in Waterford or to his local, Comerford’s in Mooncoin.
But when I googled the term just now to confirm my recollection, all I could find were dissertations on top coats for strong nails and long-lasting varnish looks. Can anyone out there put my mind at ease? – Yours, etc,
The welcome I received from Jennifer Johnston is something I will never forget
Oscars 2026: Will Hamnet with Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley get a best picture nomination?
‘My son is getting married in the summer, and the likelihood is that I’m going to be able to see that’
Is it true that women need more sleep each night than men?
PAT O’BRIEN,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – Frank McNally refers to the penchant for wearing short coats reminds me that my late mother used refer to such short coats as “bum freezers”. And this was at a time when shirts had a long tail which reached to the tops of your legs and ensured that your posterior had at least one layer of insulation. – Yours, etc,
TONY CORCORAN,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 14.
