Sir, - John Caden (Opinion, December 24th) described some early memories of Gay Byrne which I found most interesting and praiseworthy. In the interests of accuracy, however, I must point out that my friend Al Byrne was not the first Catholic appointed to the Guinness top staff, as I preceded him in this respect by a number of years, prior to being appointed to the upper management level, the brewers, and my appointment in England as general manager of Harp Lager GB Southern.
A great friend of mine and fellow Guinness worker, Brendan Foreman, another Catholic, who studied with me in Dublin over those early hard-working years, was also appointed to the "No.1 staff" at the same time as myself in the 1940s.
I would like to add my congratulations to Al on his achievements in Guinness. - Yours, etc., Dr Joe Hennessy,
Schull, Co Cork.