Madam, - Brendan McWilliams (Weather Eye, April 6th) writes that the reformed Gregorian calendar of 1582 was not adopted in Britain or Ireland until 1752. He is misinformed as far as Ireland is concerned.
It was used in the territories under the control of Hugh O'Neill and Hugh O'Donnell in the late 16th and early 17th centuries which is why the Battle of Kinsale was fought either on Christmas Eve, 1601 or January 3rd 1602, depending on which side you were on. The new calendar was also used by the Confederation of Kilkenny in the 1640s. - Yours, etc.,
GEARÓID O'SULLIVAN,
Woodley House,
READ MORE
Upper Kilmacud Road,
Dublin 14.