Cows Lane was the centre of attention when the Old City area of Dublin's Temple Bar was opened on Tuesday and it was the centre of attention again the next day when complaints arose following the front page photograph in The Irish Times of Minister Noel Dempsey beside the street sign, Lana na Bo/Cows Lane. Some said there should have been an apostrophe somewhere in Cows, but more said the sign should have read Lana na mBo. Not us, said the Department of the Environment. So who? Temple Bar?
Actually in Cows Lane that night was Ruairi Quinn. Opening an exhibition of glassware by Deirdre Rodgers at Gerry Crosbie's Whichcraft Gallery, Quinn said artists were often not appreciated in their own time. He told the following tale: Francois Mitterrand was visiting China and in the course of a long conversation asked Zhou Enlai what effect he thought the French Revolution had had on world history. Zhou took a long drag on his cigarette and said "French Revolution?" Yes, said the future president of France, 1789 and all that. "Too soon to tell," replied Zhou.
Quidnunc is rholohan@irish-times.ie
The Quidnunc column is also available on The Irish Times website at www.ireland.com