A brave man
Sir: Michael Moran (Ties, damn lies and leprechauns', 17 September) fails suffi- ciently to emphasise the most striking fea- ture of Irish-American activism: the sheer, fathomless ignorance it feeds on.
Fifteen years ago I was on holiday in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, among a group of British expatriates. One night we landed in a pub with a green neon shamrock in the window and a band playing rebel songs. The clientele were 'Irish-Americans' from Boston, whooping and cheering at every call to murder and mayhem.
After a few beers, one of our party who had been raised as a Protestant in Belfast — felt moved to defiance. While the band was resting, he got up on the stage and said: I'm from Ireland, and I'll sing you a real Irish song.' He then let fly with `The sash my father wore', yelling out the names of the great Protestant victories in the first verse:
It was worn at Deny, Aughrim, Enniskillen and The Boyne!
The staunch republicans of Boston sat through it all with expressions of reverence.
LETTERS
When our friend had done, they gave him a standing ovation.
John Derbyshire
15 Chestnut Street, Huntington, New York, USA
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