Sir, – Does inserting an extra word in the Joyce coin (Home News, April 11th) constitute a form of “quantitative easing”, and so run foul of ECB rules? – Yours, etc,
FELIX M LARKIN,
Vale View Lawn,
Cabinteely,
Dublin 18.
Sir, – This is not the first time there has been controversy about the reproduction of James Joyce’s words from “original” texts.
What I do find interesting is that in Ulysses , Bloom is purported to have paid a grocery bill with a florin (2/- coin) which he marked with three notches on the milled edge to see if it would return to him. Apparently Bloom's coin has now returned for the princely sum of €46! – Yours, etc,
FLICKA SMALL,
Castle Street,
Cork.
Sir, – About the new €10 coin error: a case of “Caught in t’hat”? I doubt if James Joyce would have been too upset, no more than he would have been had an extra “Yes!” been added to Molly Bloom’s soliloquy.
It is even more intriguing to see ‘IO EU (RO)’ on the coin. Will the IMF not be miffed to note the absence of the IOU to it too? – Yours, etc,
PATRICK JUDGE,
Rochestown Avenue,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – The fuss about the misquote from Ulysses on the Joyce coin is misplaced (Home News, April 11th). The text of Joyce's book has long been known for its printing errors and contested readings. The interpolated word is probably there in subtle homage to the author and his book. – Yours, etc,
PETER DENMAN,
Leinster Park,
Maynooth,
Co Kildare.