Sir, - The Minister for the Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Sile de Valera, has shown a surprising lack of commitment in two aspects of her ministry, arts and heritage. As we speak, Sile plays Nero's lyre while the bulldozers prepare to demolish Riversdale House, the home of W.B. Yeats. Another notable property, Whitehall House, the home of the writer Katherine Tynan, is set for the same fate. Tynan was not only an acclaimed writer but also a feminist pioneer who fought for the rights of shop girls, unmarried mothers and women's suffrage.
The Minister has ignored the protestations of An Taisce as well as pleas from our most eminent poets and writers. I well know how they feel. Last year, our society made a modest request to the Minister. We asked for permission to set a plaque into the tarmac at the War Memorial Park in honour of Ireland's war dead. The plaque was to include lines by Francis Ledwidge. Ms de Valera, who is in charge of the park, and who is, ironically, the granddaughter of the man who obstructed its opening, replied that Francis Ledwidge was appropriately commemorated at the Ledwidge cottage in Slane.
On this point, I would like to set the record straight. The home of our great poet Ledwidge was allowed to fall into decline and was saved only by a group of dedicated people who banded together and bought it on the open market. They refurbished it, turning it into a small museum, and have successfully maintained it for the past 20 years. Credit for their good work is not to be suborned by the Minister or the Fianna Fail party. Ledwidge is commemorated as a poet at his home in Slane, thanks to The Ledwidge Cottage Committee. However, he deserves to be remembered also as a soldier, and one noteworthy enough to represent all of the Irish, at the War Memorial Park.
While this Minister is in office it seems any house of historical note located beyond Gaeltacht regions is in danger of demolition. All matters of the arts not pertaining to the Gaeltacht will be met with the same indifference. And what of our Irish war dead? Don't mention the War. - Yours, etc.,
Liam O'Meara, Chairman, The Inchicore Ledwidge Society, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10.