Madam, - Once again we find ourselves contemplating the background to the memorial statue to Seán Russell, erected at public expense in Fairview Park back in the early 1950s and now destroyed by an act of vandalism, which I do not for one moment condone. And the organisation calling itself The National Graves Association has declared its intention of arranging the restoration of this monument - on public property and at public expense.
It is my view, however, and one that I believe is shared by very many others, that the Irish people should stop and give this far from straightforward matter some serious consideration, rather than yield to a foolish knee-jerk reaction that would cause us monstrous embarrassment for years to come. The basic facts of Mr Russell's background are that he took an active part in the 1916 Rising and in the subsequent war of Independence. So far, all well and good. Where he and many others went wrong, however, was when he chose to engage in the Civil War (one of the blackest marks in Irish history), on the "irregular" side and then when that dastardly campaign ran out of steam in 1923, Seán Russell refused to call it a day, reorganised his terrorist army and embarked on a guerrilla campaign against the fledgling Irish Free State, as it then was, graduating, eventually, to a bombing campaign against his perceived enemy, mainland Britain (sounds familiar?) - no mandate, no nothing, not even the pretence of a ballot paper in one hand.
Could it get worse? It could and it did. It got unbelievably worse when Russell and his comrades perceived a role for themselves in cosying up to the fascist tyrants who were sweeping the western world in the 1930s. His policy was simple: Our objective regardless of price.
Ireland has a role to play in today's world and an honourable one at that, but it would not be helped by the undue focusing of attention on the opportunistic cavorting of a bunch of reckless, irresponsible and totally unmandated mavericks. - Yours, etc.,
JOHN NEWMAN, Dublin 11.