Sir, - Vincent Browne's obsession with exposing the Workers' Party has surfaced again. In his latest attack he argues (August 6th) that Eamon Dunphy was right - it was in the public interest - to highlight Proinsias De Rossa's past membership of the WP. Those of us who are familiar with Vincent Browne's track record - especially in the Sunday Tribune - are well aware that his real intention was, once again, to attack the WP.
The WP evolved from the Official Republican Movement. That is a matter of historical record. It is also a matter of historical record that Official Sinn Fein had links with the Official IRA. Another fact, which Mr Browne chooses to ignore, is that the Official Republican movement in the 1970s did what others are being lauded as statesmen and peacemakers for taking tentative steps towards doing 20 years later. They called a ceasefire and exchanged the gun for constitutional politics.
The real scandal in Irish journalism is the fact that the antics of C.J. Haughey were not exposed until he was out of power - when the damage had already been done. This is where the public interest was betrayed. Where was Eamon Dunphy or Vincent Browne then? For that matter, why did the Taoiseach of the day fail to invite Tomas MacGiolla for a handshake in front of Government Buildings when the Official IRA called its ceasefire in 1972? - Yours, etc.,
Sean Swan,
University of East Anglia, Norwich.