Madam, - I feel compelled to protest against a sentence in Brendan O Cathaoir's Irishman's Diary of August 5th: "A wretch named Patrick Lynch swore away the life of the noble Russell. . ."
The implication appears to be that Lynch was paid to give evidence. Lynch was no wretch. Being charged himself with high treason, he, among 147 other witnesses, was forced to give evidence at the trial. Brendan Ó Cathaoir would be well advised to read the more recent accounts of this trial and of the political climate of the time before he makes such pronouncements in future.
We owe a lot to Lynch: this "wretch" collected all the marvellous Mayo songs for Bunting, to mention only one of his achievements. - Yours, etc.,
ÚNA UÍ CHUINN,
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Westport,
Co Mayo.