Canada shows how to react to offers of British titles

IN his response to my letter (June 9) on the acceptance of British titles by Irish citizens, Cian Martin (‘Flawed case against accepting honours’ (June 30) accuses me of xenophobia — a charge I reject emphatically.

However, some of Mr Martin’s comments require a more thorough response. To draw a comparison between the awarding of imperial titles by the British monarch to Irish citizens with foreign artists being welcomed into Aosdána, as Mr Martin does, is quite frankly, bizarre.

No comparison exists. Membership of Aosdána is by peer nomination and election, and those nominated must have produced a body of work that is original and creative. The same cannot be said for the awarding of imperial titles.