Sir, – Fionnuala Ward in her Irishwoman’s Diary of July 19th, “Reflections on a clothesline”, reminds me of the writer Frank O’Connor’s story of how, when he could afford it, he brought his mother on a holiday to Switzerland, renting an apartment high up in the Alps. Standing on the balcony, viewing an incomparably beautiful landscape, he asked her, “Well Mam, what do you think?” On looking all around, she replied, “There’s great drying up here!” – Yours, etc,
GEORGE CUNNINGHAM,
Roscrea,
Co Tipperary.
Sir, – Fionnuala Ward brought back memories.
My Mam’s parents and six siblings emigrated to America in the 1950s. My Mam remained in Ireland. Communications afterwards were mainly by post and those letters were often painful for our heartbroken Mam to read. Occasionally, a parcel from America would arrive, and I recall my younger brother and I each received a new top with matching summer pants – his were blue, mine were red – and the tops were embossed with an air force wings motif. One morning dressed in our American Sunday best, as we made our way to Mass, a taller boy accosted us and spat at both of us.
On another occasion years later, my two more savvy younger sisters removed their new presents of brightly coloured American coats and hid them in a hedge so as not to attract unwelcome attention, and they retrieved them afterwards on their way home. Mam never found out about our troublesome parcels from America. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL C O’CONNOR,
Waterford.