War of words over national pride
Last week, a French woman, stung by a reference by Brendan O'Connor to her country, wrote an assessment of the Irish people, based on her 32 years of marriage to an Irishman and her observations of us during her frequent visits to this country.
It was published on our letters page anonymously (the anonymity was not the writer's decision). She didn't pull her punches and the response has been swift and savage from readers at home and abroad, almost as savage as her original critique of the Irish people. But some found common ground with the lady.
Here we re-publish our French correspondent's indictment of the friendly, fun-loving, much loved Irish ('The world does not love the Irish', below), together with a sample of the views that have come pouring in throughout the week.
