Griffith and Yeats

A chara, - Brian Maye, writing about the relationship between Arthur Griffith and W. B

A chara, - Brian Maye, writing about the relationship between Arthur Griffith and W. B. Yeats (An Irishman's Diary, August 26th), says: "Although the two got on well enough at first, they came to a fierce parting of the ways. Yeats had little respect for those who opposed him".

This is not quite the whole story. In early 1923 the Government introduced a "Griffith Settlement Bill", a modest provision to assist the widow and children of Arthur Griffith. Yeats supported the measure in the Senate, saying on March 14, "I was on many points deeply opposed to Arthur Griffith during his lifetime, on matters connected with the arts, but time justified him on the great issue that most concerns us all. He was a man with the most enduring courage and most steadfast will. I have good reason to know how enduring his courage was . . . ". - Yours, etc.,

Anthony Jordan, Gilford Road, Dublin 4.