Sir, - In 1339, King Edward III was declared bankrupt by the fledgling English Parliament. He is now remembered for the battles of Crecy and Poitiers as well as the heroic deeds of his son, the Black Prince.
In 1855, Phineas Taylor Barnum was declared bankrupt following some bad investments. He has passed into folklore for the observation that "there's a sucker born every minute".
In 1884 Ulysses Simpson Grant, frail and dying of cancer, was declared bankrupt following a stock market crash. A memoir by Mark Twain relieved his widow and ensured the kind judgement of posterity.
In 1923 Walt Disney was declared bankrupt by his angry Kansas investors and promptly left for Hollywood. Today his name can raise a smile wherever children have teeth to bare or gums to grin with.
In 1976 Isaac Hayes, a former Oscar-winning singer-composer was declared bankrupt to the tune of $6 million. He has since become a star of the cult South Park TV series.
In 1989 John Ellis, TD failed to be declared bankrupt, thanks to a combination of nerve and good fortune. I wonder how will history remember him? - Yours, etc.,
David Fay, Leix Road, Cabra, Dublin 7.