1 JULY 1978, Page 17

The Irish

Sir: Alan Watkins writes (17 June) that 'the Irish state was established by thugs and murderers'. If he would glance at J. C. Squires Selections from Modern Poets he would find 'Executed after Easter Rising' appended to the poems by Thomas Macdonagh and Joseph Plunkett, and if then he were to turn to Frank O'Connor's Book of Ireland he could read 'Last lines — 1916' written by Padraig Pearse the night before he was executed. Among the Irish there still lingers the ancient belief that the valiant and pious dead should not be calumniated. Edward A Armstrong

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