Another tale about the late Archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid: At one stage during his long reign he became concerned that word was spreading in his diocese about the notorious antics of a monkey in Dublin Zoo. The animal apparently was attracting much attention because of his propensity to self abuse. The Archbishop, the story goes, had the monkey shot.
McQuaid's biographer, John Cooney, does not discount the yarn, but doubts that the archbishop shot him himself or indeed left a written record of his instruction. Cooney, whose book is due in the autumn, believes he could make more progress by consulting the files of Dublin Zoo which now, along with everything else, should be instantly available under the new Freedom of Information Act.