Madam, - It is not widely known that Kevin Rudd, the new Australian prime minister, is half Irish. His mother, Margaret DeVere, was the daughter of Edwin Joseph (Joe) DeVere whose father, Thomas Montreal Webster DeVere, came to Sydney between 1846 and 1848 from Balingarry, Co Tipperary. Joe DeVere married Hannah Cashin in the late 19th century.
Hannah was also from Tipperary stock. Accordingly, Joe and Hanna DeVere were Rudd's grandparents (source: Kevin Rudd, the Biography by Robert Macklin, Viking Books 2007).
While the Irish have contributed greatly to the recent history of Australia, this is not adequately recognised by many Australians. Sadly, the caricature image of the Irish still lingers. The presence of a new dynamic and youthful leader with such a link to Ireland should help to redeem the place of the Irish in Australia.
However, Mr Rudd has not yet claimed his Irishness with any degree of vigour and very few people in Australia or in Ireland seem to know about it. Indeed he is more associated with China in view of his fluency in the Mandarin language.
Let us hope that his election also heralds a new standing for Australia on the world stage, free of imperialistic ties with the old Britain and present-day US. Mr Rudd's ratification of the Kyoto treaty within an hour of taking office is a good start. An early invitation for Mr Rudd to visit his ancestral home might be in order. - Yours, etc,
NEIL PATRICK McCANN,
Freemantle,
Western Australia.
Madam, - James Burkill (November 28th) seems to be feeling quite sensitive. His tremulous letter in response to Colmán Ó Criodáin (November 27th) appears to suggest that individuals may not comment on international affairs unless their own nation has a perfect record in all areas. John Howard was a mean-spirited and reactionary leader who not only played the race card regularly, but often led with it. Senior figures in his party supposed that the electorate were of a similar disposition and, in one constituency, distributed leaflets from a fictional Muslim organisation suggesting that the opposition Labor Party supported the Bali bombers.
Fair-minded Australians were appalled by this incident and the dishonesty and bigotry behind it and voted to remove Mr Howard from parliament as well as government. Five of his cabinet colleagues suffered the same fate.
Having lived in Britain throughout the Thatcher years, I fully understand the joy and relief felt in the past week by many Australians - and by Dr Ó Críodáin. - Yours, etc,
COLIN JOHNSON,
Maynooth,
Co Kildare.