Sir, - I am getting so weary of correcting misstatements about The Rose Tattoo. When the extracts from Fintan O'Toole's Book of the Century were first published, I wrote, pointing out that no condom was dropped on stage during the production, yet on December 30th the original misstatement was reproduced as if I had never written.
Now, however, a much worse misstatement has been made in your issue of January 4th. Kitty Holland's report on the State Papers from the Attorney General's office reveals what we had always suspected: i.e., that the prosecution had nothing whatsoever to do with anything about Alan Simpson's production, since the Minister for Justice had been approached before the play opened. Unfortunately, she follows this and other fascinating revelations about the people involved with the statement: "Only Alan Simpson was charged and he appealed his case in 1958." This implies that he was initially found guilty.
In fact, the case was never returned for trial and it was the State which appealed to the High Court the decision by the District Justice that the gardai must reveal who gave them their instructions - they had pleaded privilege and he had over-ruled their plea. They demanded that he state a case to the High Court. The High Court backed the gardai and we then appealed to the Supreme Court against their decision. The Supreme Court said it was a matter for the District Justice to decide.
All this took well over a year. Then District Justice Cathal O'Flynn refused to return the case for trial, saying it smacked of the border principle of shoot first and ask questions afterwards. Needless to say, we were never compensated, as was recommended to the Department of Justice. As a result, our ongoing plans to move to a very much larger premises in the Temple Bar area, for which architect's plans had already been drawn up, were frustrated and our theatre never really recovered. - Yours, etc.,
Carolyn Swift, Upper Leeson Street, Dublin 4.