Sir, - I would like to register my appreciation to all involved in the organisation of the state funeral for Kevin Barry and his comrades.
Like many of the relatives, I travelled a long distance to be there and I could not have been more impressed wth the way in which we were treated by everyone, especially the staff in Mountjoy and Dublin Castle and the stewards who were entrusted to seeing to our needs.
It was a moment of extraordinary transcendence to be with my family at such a time and to join the other families in sharing memories and associations.
The outpouring of support from the people along the route illustrated more effectively than anything I could imagine that the people of Ireland care deeply about our history and the truth behind the events that led up to the foundation of the State.
There was not a hint of jingoism or triumphalism that I could see, but a dignity and solidarity that reached back across the decades. - Yours, etc.,
Irene Whelan, Manhattanville College, Purchase, New York, USA.