Sir, – The litany of Irish women whose plays have disappeared from the stage ("Fired from the canon – the fate of Irish female playwrights", December 2nd) did not include Molly Keane, who was a leading playwright in the 1930s under the pseudonym MJ Farrell. Her plays, which are full of wit and observation of eccentric characters, deserve to be revived. They were hits on the London stage, featuring such luminaries as Margaret Rutherford and Sybil Thorndike, and were popular with amateur drama groups in Ireland.
As escapes from reality, they are an antidote to the harrowing themes of many of the plays by Irish women listed in Sara Keating’s illuminating survey. – Yours, etc,
ITA BEAUSANG,
Clontarf, Dublin 3.