Madam, – In your article on January 16th, dealing with the 90th anniversary of the foundation of the Labour Party, the old story is repeated that de Valera, in connection with nominating candidates in the 1918 general election, declared that “Labour must wait”. Despite extensive research on this period, I have found no evidence that this was ever said. Those who believe otherwise must confirm where and when. Certainly, the Irish Labour Party came under pressure from Sinn Féin on the issue of abstention from Westminster by successful Labour candidates. But there were already divisions within Labour on the subject, including strong support for abstention. Unable to resolve these differences, which included holding a conference on November 1st, the Irish Labour Party and TUC decided not to contest the election. In the North, some Labour candidates did stand, contrary to the Irish Labour Party-ITUC decision. – Yours, etc,