A chara, – Joe Murray (February 24th) writes that history is behind the name Lansdowne while money is behind the name Aviva, so you take your choice. However Mr Murray is only partly correct. Money is also behind the name Lansdowne.
The excellent RTÉ Hidden Historyseries included a programme, "Land is Gold", which included a reference to the history of the Lansdowne estate in Ireland, particularly Kerry, where Lord Lansdowne ruled the roost in the second half of the 19th century through his notorious agent W.S. Trench.
The Lansdownes were a very wealthy aristocratic family, symbolic of all the British Empire represented. They were connected through marriage with the Earls of Shelbourne, who owned lands in Dublin 4 where the rugby headquarters is now based. To this day the Lansdowne family own Dereen House and Gardens near Kenmare as a summer residence and still enjoy rights to fishing, shooting and ground rents in Kenmare.
While the name “Aviva” might represent the money and wealth of 2009 let us not engage in that modern-day pastime of revisionism and ignore the money and wealth represented by the name Lansdowne. – Is mise,
E.F. FANNING,
Churchtown, Dublin 14.