Madam, – The House of Lords library provides three copies of The Irish Times for members. As a Protestant nationalist from the County of Parnell, I naturally make a beeline for a copy. But time and again I am beaten to the hill by a posse of distinguished Ulster unionists. When I recently inquired of an exceptionally distinguished Ulsterman as to why he was attracted to an organ of the Republic as opposed to, for example, the Belfast Newsletter, he grimly muttered that it was the only way of finding out “what was going on back home”.
As for myself, I fight my corner in order to put a spring in my step from reading Miriam Lord, who puts all the parliamentary pundits in the shade. It is difficult, on occasion, not to shatter the soporific silence of the place by laughing out loud, as unfortunately happened on Thursday. As long as there are the Miriams (and the Fintans) there is still hope. – Yours, etc,