Sir, - A salient feature of the recent election campaign was the venom heaped on Mary Harney. The epithet "Thatcherite" was used with bully-like fervour.
I am sharply reminded of an episode in the life of an uncle of mine, the late Mike Quill. Mike was founder of, and went on to become International President of, the Transport Workers' Union of America. In the course of his many battles to establish the union he was branded a communist and called Red Mike. This was the McCarthy era in the United States.
Mike's retort to that accusation is worth recalling: "I'd rather be called a red by the rats, than a rat by the reds." - Yours, etc.,
Wellington Road, Cork.