Mary Lou McDonald was something of a firebrand student but is now cool and composed

How times change. Nowadays you seem effortlessly cool and composed in public debate.

Experience counts for something, as I hope in my own case as well.

As you may know, the English Parliamentary Party is inspired by the Irish Parliamentary Party of Anna Parnell (Ladies’ Land league), by William Gladstone and by Provost Mahaffy, celebrated teacher of Oscar Wilde.

It has long been my intention to complete Parnellite Home Rule by purely constitutional methods.

Two of my main efforts centre on ballroom dancing and rugby.

As you know I have tried in the past to encourage in you an informed interest in rugby. I wonder whether you would join me in supporting the Ireland rugby team which has been so successful in recent years.

It would entail visits to Rome, to Lansdowne Road and Cardiff in the next few weeks. I hope your presence would inspire the men in green and white, although perhaps your own personal interests would lie rather in women’s rugby.

In 1993 I distributed 50,000 Song Sheets at Lansdowne Road for the French and English matches.

Sadly young Malone, London Irish,missed the vital kicks that would have enabled us (well, you, since I’m English) to beat France but I’m sure that you were as excited as the rest of the Irish supporters by Mick Galwey’s magnificent try against England (yours and pretty well everybody else’s old enemy).

We ended up as you know with Ireland’s Call. This is not a personal favourite of mine. In my opinion Shannon’s There Is An Isle is the obvious anthem for a united island.

We were sorry you were unable to launch Volume IV of The Shaping of English Poetry (Peter Lang) in the United Arts Club last year, but I’m sure we all hope to see you there in the near future.

Dr Gerald Morgan, Dublin