Sir, - As students in Clongowes Wood College, we read with interest Kevin Myers's "An Irishman's Diary", dated May 22nd.
We would like to take issue with Mr Myers's use of quotation from the recently published Clorigowes Union Centenary Chronicle and query his interpretation of the facts as he saw them.
Mr Myers quotes the Chronicle as saying that the involvement of 604 Old Clongownians in the Great War "could not be regarded as an indication of any political affiliation". He then went on to say that there was no reported Clongownian participation in the 1916 Rising, thus ignoring the very next sentence: "In 1916 and later many Old Clongownians became involved in the struggle for independence."
Hence Mr Myers chose to ignore the well documented contribution of Michael Joseph O'Rahilly, better known as The O'Rahilly, and also J. J. O'Connell and Rory O'Connor, to name but a few.
If would therefore seem to us that Clongowes was inaccurately portrayed, in Mr Myers's article.
We are not suggesting that Clongowes was a hotbed of republicanism; to say so would be misleading. Nor would it be fair to suggest, as Mr Myers did, that Clongowes was entirely affiliated to the Home Rule movement.
However, we are proud to say that Clongowes embraced all strands of nationalism, personified in such contrasting Old Clongownians as Thomas F. Meagher, John Redmond, Kevin O'Higgins and Rory O'Connor.
We hope that this fact will be acknowledged by Mr Myers and readers alike. - Yours, etc.,
Clongowes Wood College,
Co Kildare.