ABBEY THEATRE SIR,—In a journal of opinion like the Spectator,
Brian Inglis is, in a way, justified in saying that Ernest Blythe 'owns' the Abbey Theatre, Dublin; the statement is going to cause some grave misunder- standings among those of your readers less acquainted with the intricacies of Dublin life than Dr. Inglis. It will particularly confuse that class of Englishman who so often tells me that he has been to Dublin and seen a, play at the Abbey : 'absolute howl from beginning to end, old boy; typically Irish, of course.' (What did he expect it to be? Typically Bulgarian?) I can well believe that anybody who has worked for the Irish Times never, in a sense,• leaves it. The same is true of some other Irish institutions. I was once asked by a Mr. Dennis Kelly—known, I believe, as the Father of the Kerry Bar—if I was a Trinity man. I replied, 'Once.' He said: 'There is no once 20 Edgedale Road, Sheffield 7 IAN SAINSBURY [Brian Inglis writes : 'I was not trying to be facetious about the Abbey (though as Mr. Sainsbury suggests, I might be forgiven for that). My writing was to blame: "owns" should have read "runs." — Editor, Spectator.]
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