Sir, – Stephen Collins reports on the 1986 government decision to exile to Australia the John Hughes statue of Queen Victoria that once stood in the grounds of Leinster House ("John Bruton objected to sending Queen Victoria statue to Sydney", State Papers, December 30th).
Apparently our legislators are still not free of their tiresome prejudice against sculpted symbols of British rule as a very fine statue of Prince Albert still stands on the Leinster House lawn but cannot actually be seen from the road as it is hidden behind a hedge!
The statue is the work of John Henry Foley, one of the great figures of the Irish sculptural tradition, but obviously his reputation is not sufficient to save his masterpiece from permanent obscurity. – Yours, etc,
REG McCABE,
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Killiney, Co Dublin.