Sir, – Further to “George Huxley – Classics professor with a passion for his subject was devoted to Ireland” (Obituary, December 17th), we knew Prof George Huxley when he was working in Queen’s University, Belfast, as “Hacksaw” Huxley. A nickname he wore with honour following being fined one shilling back in 1964 as a result of threatening to cut the chains off the swings in Botanic Gardens, which in those dark days were chained up on Sundays to discourage children playing on the sabbath. Thankfully we have come a long way since then. – Yours, etc,
PAUL STEWART,
Falcarragh,
Co Donegal.
Sir, – In your obituary of George Huxley, it was mentioned that Prof Huxley was “vociferously opposed to the closure of a number of the arts and humanities departments, including Greek, Latin and Classical Studies, at Queen’s in the late 1990s and early 2000s”.
His concerns about the arts and humanities were not confined to Queen’s University. In a letter published in The Irish Times on March 29th, 2007, he described the “demotion of early and medieval Irish as a full degree subject at UCD” as “lamentable”, pointing out, among other matters, that “the worth of a scholarly or scientific subject cannot be estimated by counting heads”. To Prof Huxley’s many contributions to scholarship may be added his longstanding and generous support for the UCD Osborn Bergin Memorial Lecture. – Yours, etc,
Dr CAOIMHÍN BREATNACH, MRIA,
Dr ROISIN McLAUGHLIN,
School of Irish,
Celtic Studies and Folklore,
University College Dublin,
Belfield,
Dublin 4.