Sir, While purchasing some rather expensive magazines from a large newsagents in O'Connell Street, Dublin, my attention was drawn to a framed version of the Irish National Anthem and particularly the chorus of the English version; the last lines of which convey a puzzling exhortation:
. . . See in the east a silvery glow;
Out yonder waits the Saxon foe.
So sing a soldier's song.
I was pleased to notice that no mention of the "Saxon" foe appears in the Irish version, but of course it is the English version that has a wider audience.
Perhaps your readers can explain this un-European attitude and why the dear burghers of Saxony have been singled out for special mention. There has always been a very close association between Germany and Ireland and this rather enigmatic phrase, I know, causes worry and alarm in the banking fraternity. Thank heavens. the Soldier's Song is not official. - Yours, etc.,
7 Wesley Heights,
Dundrum, Dublin 16.