My hairdresser, Maureen, regaled me this morning with a story her grandmother tells and, according to Maureen's father, has embellished over time. But that's the Irish way --

In the time before freedom was achieved, loyalists raided her grandmother's house looking for her brothers who were hiding in the thatches. They used sticks to poke at the roof. This made me think of Kristallnacht a la Spielberg but the Germans used automatic weapons and were more successful.

In the case of Maureen's grandmother, all of the brothers escaped. Maureen said that wearning green was outlawed - imagine! - but they wore it underneath their outerwear. Maybe that's why people wear green nowadays. But I could not fathom why anyone would support a monarchy instead of a republic. Think about it. Aren't monarchs despised? Was it pure religious bigotry?