Sir, - Dick Hogan's article on the Brendan Society's group visit next month to the US (Southern Report, September 1st) mentioned the enormous involvement of the Irish in the American Civil War - probably the biggest chapter in the history of the Irish-American relationship. Some 175,000 people born in Ireland fought in the Union army and 40,000 in the Confederate army, together with tens of thousands of Irish-Americans.
The central event of the visit will be a two-day seminar in the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. This project is a fitting follow-up to the historic visit of President Clinton to Ireland. There are still a few places left. - Yours, etc., Con Howard,
Society of St Brendan,
42 Lower Kilmacud Road,
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Stillorgan,
Co Dublin.