Sir, – I enjoyed Frank McNally’s account of his maiden outing to the famed retail experience of Kildare Village (An Irishman’s Diary, February 22nd). I have a few years on Frank but like him I have been there once (so far) and I was left feeling sufficiently delighted by the experience.
I was struck by his references to the garment which prompted his pilgrimage – it is variously an overcoat or a full-length overcoat.
The item in question was never described by my late father other than as a top coat and was worn over the suit and tie to all State occasions – Mass, funerals, hurling matches in Kilkenny or Croke Park and visits to the bookies in Waterford or to his local, Comerford’s in Mooncoin.
But when I googled the term just now to confirm my recollection, all I could find were dissertations on top coats for strong nails and long-lasting varnish looks. Can anyone out there put my mind at ease? – Yours, etc,
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PAT O’BRIEN,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – Frank McNally refers to the penchant for wearing short coats reminds me that my late mother used refer to such short coats as “bum freezers”. And this was at a time when shirts had a long tail which reached to the tops of your legs and ensured that your posterior had at least one layer of insulation. – Yours, etc,
TONY CORCORAN,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 14.