Sir, - Having searched high up and low down, I cannot but agree with Eoghan Harris (October 12th) that there is no evidence that James Connolly was kicked while lying wounded on a stretcher. As he says: "This did not happen; neither was a crowd in Croke Park machine gunned."
However, in fairness to Neil Jordan, I think it is a bit much for Mr Harris to refer to these two incidents as "fictional atrocities". James Connolly had his leg shattered by a bullet during Easter Week. In great pain, he was taken to hospital in Dublin Castle after the surrender on April 29th. On May 12th he was conveyed by ambulance to Kilmainham Jail and was carried to the jail yard, where he was put in a chair and shot by a firing squad.
There is no evidence whatever to suggest that machine guns were used by the British forces in Croke Park. It is, however, an historical fact that on Bloody Sunday, November 21st, 1920, during a football match between Dublin and Tipperary, the grounds were surrounded by Auxiliaries and military who opened fire on spectators and players alike. Fourteen persons were killed and about 80 wounded.
It will be a great relief to the living relatives of those who were shot in Croke Park to learn from Eoghan Harris that, at least, they were not shot by machine gunners. Yours, etc.,
Garran Bhaile Sheain,
Dun Laoghaire.