National theatre was left a poisoned chalice

NOW that the centenary of the Abbey has passed, may I say there has been far too much ambivalence and equivocation about the contribution made by Ernest Blythe to the national theatre.

In an era of artistic greatness his major contribution was to hand on the poisoned chalice of the Irish language.

The only thing he didn’t do was send Dr Lennox Robinson to the Gaeltacht.