Sir, Would that Elizabeth Windsor would confine herself to the title of "head of state of England," as she is described in Jarlath Ryan's letter (December 20th). I, for one, would welcome her to Ireland, and to University College, Galway, with a hearty cead mile failte in those circumstances. I trust that I have not offended Mr Ryan, whose antipathy to our nation's first language (like that of most royalists to the Celtic languages in general) was so clearly demonstrated in his letter of December 6th.
Mr Ryan says that he is tired of having to define his identity in relation to Britain. He should spare a thought for the half million of his own countrymen and women who are forced to do so daily, through no fault of their own, as unwilling citizens of the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" of which Elizabeth Windsor claims to be queen. These are the people who can truthfully say that no glass of ours was ever raised to toast the Queen. Dublin Castle type forelock touching in front of this monarchy should be as alien in Galway as it would be in Bellaghy.
As one of the signatories of the letter which sparked this current controversy, could I make it clear that we made no claim to represent anyone but ourselves, least of all the students of the university. We simply stated that Dr. O hEocha's suggested invitation "would not have the undivided support of his colleagues in UCG." Lit `n' Deb's rather grandiose claims to be more representative of UCG student opinion on this issue are therefore moot. Yours, etc., Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College, Galway.