Madam, - My family and I would like to thank recent contributors to this page, and to other pages of The Irish Times, for their generosity in remembering Brendan with such genuine warmth, respect and affection.
Your readers are correct. He was kind and humorous, had a love of history and literature and had acquired, over his lifetime, a remarkable breadth of knowledge. Despite that, he was a modest man and would have been absolutely astounded at the extent to which he had won his way into people's hearts.
His Weather Eye column had become for Brendan, a daily opportunity to express his ideas in a creative way. This in turn, of course, helped him to achieve a delightful mixture of personal and professional fulfilment and a contentment with his lot in life. He welcomed the daily challenge and often remarked on how indebted he was to the many people who wrote to him over the years with questions, ideas and contributions to his research database.
All the recent writings, eulogies and letters to the Editor have been beautiful. In expressing their admiration for Brendan, people have given us, his family, great comfort and support at this devastatingly awful time. They have touched our hearts and we will not forget them. - Yours, etc.
ANNE McWILLIAMS, Wexford.