Sir, - May I thank Joe Dowling for his review of my book Abbey Theatre 1899-1999: Form and Pressure (Books, January 8th) - and also put on record my response to a particular point.
Mr Dowling rightly regrets an absence of a proper record of the Abbey actors. In my prologue I emphasise that the book is a history and that other histories could and should be written, especially a history of the Abbey actors. In fact the book originally had an appendix containing biographies of some 30 actors compiled under my direction by Dr Allan Blackstock of Queen's University, Belfast. Unfortunately, the editors at Oxford had already been more than generous in allowing me greatly to exceed my word limit. The work is done and Dr Allan Blackstock and I will gladly make it available to anyone embarking on a study of the Abbey actors. As I wrote this book I was only too aware of how much I was leaving out. In the prologue I suggested that studies of the actors, the politics of the theatre and of its personalities should be undertaken for 2004, the centenary of the opening of the Abbey at the Mechanics' Institute.
Lastly, I should say that in discussing plays, I took pains to give the names of the actors who played each role I mentioned, so to that (limited) extent at least the actors were part of my record. - Yours, etc.,
Robert Welch, Centre for Irish Literature and Bibliography, University of Ulster, Coleraine, Co Derry.