Pledging an oath

Sir, – What’s all the fuss about? Eamon Gilmore is in good company.

On entering the Dáil on August 12th, 1927, Eamon de Valera said (re the oath of allegiance): “ I am not prepared to take an oath. I am not going to take an oath. I am prepared to put my name down in this book in order to get permission to go into the Dáil but it has no other significance.”

The oath, he said, was an “empty formula”. – Yours, etc,

BRENDAN O’DONNELL,

READ MORE

Kilcolman Court,

Glenageary,

Co Dublin.