Sir, - Mrs Marjorie Horgan (letters page, December 3rd) might have done well to read one of her several books about Michael Collins before going to see the film. Perhaps then she might have realised that the period in question was the most violent time in Irish history so far.
Unfortunately, in such a time, people do tend to die in agony with blood oozing from their wounds, and horror on their faces. This is because war is a deeply unpleasant business, and as the War of independence marked the start of guerrilla warfare in Ireland, with its attendant terror tactics, this particular conflict was worse than most.
I also thought the film was very violent, and I do think a 15s cert would have been more appropriate. The censor's argument for giving it a 12s cert, so that it could reach a wider audience, is one that is fundamentally flawed, because, it makes a nonsense of the whole idea of having a censor in the first place.
It appears that some people in this country do not wish to lose the romantic, heroic image they have of Michael Collins and other figures from Irish history, and to face up to the fact that they, as, well as the British, were responsible for some of the most terrible times in our history. - Yours, etc.,
Northbrook Avenue,
Ranelagh,
Dublin 6.