Sir, - Maeve Brennan, the subject of Fintan O'Toole's moving tribute (The Irish Times, January 1/2), who died some four years ago, is unquestionably one of Ireland's greatest short-story writers. Her first collection, In and Out of Never-Never Land - a haunting, prophetic title, having regard to Fintan O'Toole's description of her final years - was published by Scribner's in 1969. On December 29th, 1973, I published in The Irish Press's "New Irish Writing" Christmas Eve, the story which gave rise to Fintan O'Toole's tribute, and I included it in an anthology, Irish Christmas Stories (Bloomsbury, 1995). It became the title story of her second collection, which Scribners brought out in 1974.Later in the 1970s she came back to live in Dublin and had dinner with my wife and me at our home. She invited us back to dine with her at her flat in Ballsbridge, but when we turned up, the flat was empty. We weretold that shortly beforehand she had suddenly upped and gone back to the US.I don't think she wrote any further stories after the two Scribner collections, The Springs of Affection, referred to by Fintan O'Toole, being probably a collection of her best work. The two Scribner collections comprise 35 stories, all but one of which first appeared in The New Yorker and 19 of which are set in Ireland. It is a sad reflection that in the land of her birth, which is so proud of its many great short-story writers, she is still virtually unknown. Perhaps one of our enterprising publishers might make amends with a volume of Maeve Brennan's Irish stories? Better late than never. - Yours, etc.,David Marcus,Rathgar,Dublin 6.