Madam, - I read with astonishment An Irishman's Diary in your edition of January 17th. I have rarely read such an anti-national tirade. Most countries are proud to recognise the origins of their independence and we should be no different.
Most Irish people recognise the Easter Rising and the Proclamation of Independence as the start of our independence. The French celebrate Bastille Day; the Americans celebrate Independence Day.
James Connolly may, as Mr Myers writes, have drawn his pistol on Insp Bannon. Insp Bannon may on that day have been unarmed, as may his colleagues. British rule in Ireland, however, was not unarmed. It was maintained by an armed paramilitary police force together with a strong army garrison. The various risings against British rule in modern Irish history were all suppressed by overwhelming force of arms.
James Connolly was not "a war-mongering totalitarian-in-waiting", as stated by Mr Myers. James Connolly is generally acknowledged to have been a brave and fearless champion of the underprivileged classes of the Dublin of his day. I believe people of all political persuasions in Ireland today revere the memory of James Connolly.
Mr Myers goes on to state that ours is the most anglicised non-British country in the world. We speak English, we are a close neighbour of a larger country and we naturally use their media. We also use American media, including print, television and film, yet we are not the most Americanised country in the world.
Our national media sometimes report on English cricket. Cricket is still a popular game in Ireland, played by thousands of people. Our national media also report on Indian and Pakistani cricket and even sometimes report on test matches in the West Indies. They sometimes even report on American football, which is not even played in Ireland.
I remember 1970 quite well. Even though I was a child, there did not appear to be any abject poverty in the country. We certainly weren't "the poorest country in Europe". Mr Myers seems to have forgotten that Albania, Romania, Portugal and Spain were considerably poorer than Ireland in 1970. Under our own economic management, we have managed in 30 years to become wealthier than Britain and one of the wealthiest countries in the world.
Mr Myers describes Sean Lemass as "the great Sean Lemass". I totally agree with him. Sean Lemass did, however, fight in the GPO in 1916 and was an active participant in the War of Independence. Mr Myers may have forgotten this. In 1966, Mr Lemass did sign a free trade treaty with Britain. This did not, as Mr Myers says, "symbolically undo the central purpose of the Rising half a century before". Mr Lemass signed this treaty as a leader of a sovereign state. - Yours, etc,
Senator GERALDINE FEENEY (FF), Seanad Éireann, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Madam, - Kevin Myers (January 17th) calls James Connolly a "Marxist lunatic". Such "ad hominem" abuse is no substitute for reasoned argument.
James Connolly performed a number of leading roles in his public service to the nation. He was Ireland's seminal socialist thinker and writer, patriot and martyr, and neutralist ("We serve neither King nor Kaiser). Counter-imperialism was his inspiration. - Yours, etc,
J. A. BARNWELL, St Patrick's Road, Dublin 9.