A dhuine uasail, - Michael Finlan (January 8th) repeats the story that Joe Heaney was expelled from Colaiste Einde for smoking a cigarette. To give this reason for Joe's parting company with the college is unfair to the liberal and enlightened priests in charge of us in Colaiste Einde during the 1930s.
Most of the boys in the college, myself included, smoked, but as long as we restricted our smoking to the basement, the wise and sensible priests, though knowing well that we smoked, turned the blind eye.
Joe Heaney was not called back to the college (it was residential) after the first year, because it had become apparent to the teachers (nearly all of whom were priests) that he was not suited to a career as primary school teacher. His talents, of course, lay in another field altogether and he made good use of them. Beir beannacht,
Nutley Road,
Dublin 4.