`Minnie dresses' warning

ONE file released to the National Archives is entitled "Communism, general left wing movements".

ONE file released to the National Archives is entitled "Communism, general left wing movements".

The file contains a letter from a Ms Maud Sullivan, Los Angeles, addressed to "the Premier of Catholic Holy Ireland, the Isle of Saints".

In it, Ms Sullivan details her Irish ancestry before coming to the purpose of her letter. "I am now writing against Communism. Dear Premier, what I want to tell you about last St Patrick's Day, down at the City Hall in Los Angeles, California, the mayor party gave a big celebration in honour of St Patrick.

"His guests were from Ireland. As I looked to the top of about 2 dozen steps a few airplane hostesses from Ireland were sitting down near the mayor with their legs bare away above their knees. I was shocked. I thot [sic] they cannot be from Catholic holy Ireland. They must be from Protestant north Ireland.

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"Now what I want to ask you dear Premier, if the women and girls in Catholic Ireland are wearing minnie [sic] dresses, also tight pants and minnie skirts. Ireland will not be holy Ireland any more unless they get back to decent dress, at once, and ask God for forgiveness.

"Ireland is the only country in the world that is called the Isle of Saints, and if the women and girls are disgracing it they ought to be ashamed of their selves [sic]. I myself have never wore a minnie dress and I never intend to, not if you would give me all the money in the world to do so.

"Our country here in the USA, our women and girls in their minnie dresses, has brought God's displeasure down on us. We have had storms. Earthquakes that we never had before in different parts of our country. Here in Los Angeles we had storms we never had before last winter, that brought houses tumbling down the hills. Just awful.

"What I want to ask you, dear Premier, is bring Ireland back to decency as quickly as possible before it loses its title of the Isle of Saints."