The party in the Writers' Centre in Parnell Square on Tuesday evening celebrated not only a new book by historian Eoin Neeson, but also a new imprint, Prestige Books, under the auspices of publisher Terry Sudway.
Both book and press were welcomed by artist Robert Ballagh, who praised the connections made by Neeson between European republicanism and the Irish experience. He remembered the furore when he was asked to design a stamp to commemorate the centenary of Padraig Pearse and included on it the GPO and the figure of Liberte. Letters flooded into this paper wondering what was a French statue doing on our stamp and one particular letter, titled "Eire Go Bra-less", asked what was a brazen, bare-chested hussy doing on our stamp?
There was an oriental flavour to the evening with the new Chinese ambassador, Zheng Jinjiong, stopping by; the Philippines consul general, John Ferris, coming with his wife, Elby Ferris; Eoin's old friend Teresita Ciuz helping with book sales and another old friend, Yoshi Ishii of Japan Ireland Connection, also there. Other guests included Ruairi and Maire Brugha; solicitor Darach Connolly and his wife Joan Connolly; MajGen Paddy Nolan, the Deputy Chief of Staff; Garech de Brun of Claddagh Records and Eoin's young granddaughter, Aoife Neeson.