Madam, - Congratulations to the eagle-eyed Pat Cooke (April 5th) on his suspicions regarding the previously unseen, rather action-heavy frame of 1916 street fighting, presented in the 1916 Rising supplement to your edition of March 28th.
Even aside from the giveaway 1952 numberplate in the corner, it was all a bit too good to be true: the gunfire, the bodies, the burning vehicles packed so conveniently into one narrow street and all so neatly captured by the strategically elevated camera lens.
Well, despite the assurances by Getty Images regarding the authenticity of the image, we at the Irish Film Archive, after some quick sleuthing through the collections, can confidently confirm that the picture is in fact a production still - complete with star-struck onlookers in the distant background - from Young Cassidy, the 1965 biopic of Sean O'Casey, co-directed by John Ford and Jack Cardiff and starring a muscular young Rod Taylor in the title role.
So the image is valuable indeed as a part of Irish cinema history, but not quite the primary photographic evidence that it purported to be. - Yours, etc,
SUNNIVA O'FLYNN, Curator, Irish Film Archive, Irish Film Institute, Eustace Street, Dublin 2.
Madam, - Like many others, I found the recent 1916 supplement to your edition of March 28th to be a lively and interesting publication. However, it is a shame that readers may have been misled in relation to the Labour Party and its supposed lack of emphasis on its associations with 1916.
The article on page 9 of your supplement states correctly that Labour has always regarded Connolly as a source of inspiration but seems to suggest that this is played down somewhat. Joe Costello TD has organised an annual Connolly Commemoration at Arbour Hill for Labour. Also, for some time now the Labour Party has promoted its links to 1916 as part of our "Liberty Project", a joint Labour/Siptu initiative. A series of events for the Liberty Project is taking place across the country and in Dublin, details of which are on www.labour.ie.
The ethos that said "Labour must wait" out of deference to the "national question" has long given way, and Labour continues to re-establish its links to 1916 and the founding of our State. The Liberty Project is an example of this.
The starry plough, as a symbol of Labour, continues to be used and celebrated, and can be seen throughout all our Liberty Project events. - Is mise,
LIZ McMANUS TD, Deputy Leader, Labour Party, Leinster House, Dublin 2.