A RICHARD spring was in Bath this week, but he was the Tory MP for Bury St Edmunds, not our Tanaiste. The South African-born Englishman is well aware of the connection and claims he and his namesake are related. Indeed they are not unalike in appearance - tall and skinny. He told Quidnunc that their joint ancestor comes from Lavenham in Suffolk, where he made a great deal of money by importing Flemish weavers. According to the MP, the Kerry Springs left for Castle Kilkenny in 1580, and the well-known Spring Rice family are all his descendants.
Mr Spring, who is the third member of his family to enter the House of Commons, says he has tried to entice the Tanaiste to Lavenham to see the church, which is so grand it is almost a cathedral, built by their ancestor Thomas Spring. Our Dick Spring is reluctant. Can it be because the 16th century Springs were, according to the MP, the richest non-gentry family in England outside London and even boasted a coat of arms? Surely not an enviable background for a socialist? Or is it because the MP was involved in a rather silly tabloid sex scandal last year which led to some unfortunate confusion between the two in some quarters.