Madam, – It is with great sadness that I read of the passing of a great Irish writer, Frank McCourt.
However, I could not believe my eyes when I read the tributes paid to this gentleman by various Limerick politicians.
I believe that the treatment of Mr McCourt by the people of Limerick, following the publication of Angela's Ashes, was nothing short of despicable.
Humiliated by his accurate account of the sheer nastiness and depravity of their city, some of its people resorted to infantile tribalism.
Despite winning a Pulitzer Prize, Mr McCourt was subjected to abuse, ridicule and questions over his integrity by people who will never come close to achieving his literary genius.
It is a sad reflection on modern Ireland that such pathetic begrudgery continues to exist in our society.
May Frank McCourt rest in peace. May those in Limerick who attacked him realise that his genius will be remembered for centuries, long after their cheap insults are forgotten. – Yours, etc,