25 JUNE 1921, Page 13

THE MURDER OF DEAN FINLAY.

(To THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR.") SIR,—In the Spectator of June 18th, p. 766, you mention : " We have heard of no protests from the Romish Church." You evidently had not seen the paragraph I enclose out of the Irish Times of the 1Gth inst., which shows that, at all events, some priests of that Church had courage enough to express their horror of the murder, and even to attend the funeral of Dean "The Belfast Telegraph of June 15th published the following communication : We, the undersigned, beg to express our horror and indignation at the crime committed by the murder of the Very Rev. James Finlay, M.A., and we beg to tender to his wife and other relatives our deepest sympathy. We imagined his age, his venerable appearance, his kindly relations with every one in the locality, and, above all, his profession, would have saved him from such a sad fate, but it seems that God decreed otherwise. It is right, however, to add that such was the respect in which Dean Finlay was held, that there is not a single neighbour of his who does not view the crime with the same horror as we.—Signed--Very Rev. T. Brady, P.P., V.F., Templeport; Very Rev. P. O'Reilly, P.P., V.F., Kinawley; l:ev. John McGovern, P.P., Corlough.' " [We are glad to publish Mrs. Rochfort's letter. It is good to know that some of the Irish Roman Catholic clergy, with the Bishop of Cork, regard murder as a foul crime, and do not hesitate to say so.—En. Spectator.]